05/07/26 School Board Work Session

001Good evening. I would now like to call this  May 7th, 2026 board work session to order. Um,   can we please start by having board members read  the district mission and goals? District mission.   The mission of the school district of Habford  Township is to educate and to inspire a community   of lifelong learners who become well-rounded  global citizens. District goals are academic   excellence in an evolving world, prepare future  rate learners who persevere, adapt, problem solve,   think critically, and are supported by engaging  learning experiences and intentional use of   technology. Belonging. Honor every individual's  inherent dignity through equitable, inclusive,   and diverse practices. social and emotional  growth. Build a learning community that   prioritizes social and emotional wellness as  a foundation for academic success, resilience,   and strong relationships. And finally, community  pride and civic engagement. Empower students to   be active, responsible,

002and contributing  citizens through shared responsibility   and community partnerships. Thank you. Mr. Tessa,  can you call the role, please? Yes. Mr. Flaggler,   here. Miss Lee, here. Dr. McKay here. Mr. Schwarz  here. Miss Snograss here. Miss Snder here. Miss   Weedman here. Dr. Shelton here. Dr. King present.  Thank you. We'll continue on to section two,   which takes us to public comment. Members of the  Half for Township community are invited to speak   during the public comment section listed on the  agenda. Should a Half for Township resident wish   to speak during the public comment section on the  agenda, they must sign up by 3M on the date of the   meeting. Specific sign up details can be found  on the district's website. Public comment occurs   twice during the schoolboard meeting. During  the first public comment section on the agenda,   you may

003make a comment about topics listed for  a vote on the meeting agenda only. During the   second public comment section on the agenda, you  may make a comment about any school related topic.   Per board policy, each speaker is only allowed  three minutes for their remarks. A timer will   be set at the start of your comments and an  alarm will sound indicating that your allotted   threeminut time has been completed. Please end  your remarks when you hear the threeminut alarm   sound. Should you have any materials for members  of the board, please leave them at the end of   the table with Mr. Tessa for later distribution  to the board. Please note that if appropriate,   a member of the administration may follow up with  you at a later date. When your name is called,   please go to the podium and

004state your first  and last name. confirm your residency in Herford   Township and then the timer will begin for your  allotted three minute remarks. For the first   um section of public comment on the agenda,  we do not have anyone signed up to speak. So,   we're going to continue on to section three. And  I have a motion to approve the minutes from the   April 23rd, 2026 regular board meeting.  Shelter moved. address second. Moved and   seconded. Any discussion? All in favor? I. Any  opposed? The motion passes. Item 3B takes us   to bill list. Can I have a motion to approve  the bill list in the amount of $1,18,390.54? Shelton second. Moved and seconded. Any  discussion? All in favor? I. Any opposed? The   motion passes. We'll continue to 3C tax appeals.  Can I have a motion to authorize settlement

005of   council and proceed with the stipulation for  tax appeals for folio number 22-04-0000629-07 and number 22-04-0000472-0000 as discussed at the April 9th 2026 board  work session. Shelton moved second. Moved   and seconded. Any discussion? All in favor?  Any oppose? The motion passes. 3D graduate   level reading internship program. Have  a motion to approve the agreement with   Westchester University for graduate level reading  internship program for the 2026 27 school year. Moved and seconded. Any discussion? All in  favor? I. Any oppose? Motion passes. Item   3E takes us to personnel actions. Have  a motion to approve the personal actions   listed below. McKay moved. Second. Moved  and seconded. Any discussion? There's a   lot of retire a lot of years of retirement.  So, we thank everybody for their service. All in favor? Any oppose? The motion passes.  We've now concluded the action

006portion of the   meeting and we are moving into the working  portion of the meeting in which items are   being provided for information and discussion  purposes only. None of the items discussed are   being considered for an official action  at this time. We'll go to section four,   which takes us to uh committee reports.  academic and people services. Miss Lee,   Miss Saxa, thank you, Miss Lee. Um, we are with  your indulgence going to just switch the order a   little bit. We wanted to start with the wellness  update because we have two folks who are here   for that that don't need to stay for the rest.  So, if that's okay, I'd like to welcome uh Mrs.   Audrey McWills up to the podium. She is going to  share with us the annual school wellness update. Hi. Um, as you can

007see on the slide, um, the uh,  oversight of the school wellness initiative and   the committee, we'll be moving from pupil services  to the business office for the next year. We would   like to thank Dr. Badestelli for all her hard work  over the last few years. Um, recognizing that the   school board meeting has a full plate of topics to  discuss, Dr. Badestelli has condensed this year's   um summary with agreement from Dr. Hayes and  Dr. King. As required by the USDA and PDA, the   district-wide wellness policy needs to be assessed  every three years with the last assessment being   uh last April of 2025. We established a  wellness committee that meets three times   a year. The committee includes administrators,  teachers, students, parents, community members,   and a schoolboard member. The focus of the  meetings is on physical activity, nutrition,

008and   student well-being. There is an agenda for these  meetings and the members are encouraged to bring   new topics to the discussions. From the slide, you  can see that the school participates in wellness   activities in various ways with the elementary  schools. Some highlights are um they have morning   meetings, brain breaks, mentorship programs,  clubs, student councils, uh recess referees,   reading buddies, and various sports um teams for  the that the kids can join. At the middle school,   there's uh restorative practices, wellness days,  advisory periods, morning shows, a student voice,   and many other sports opportunities. Uh the high  school has monthly wellness days, trade and job   fairs, college road trips, reality fairs, and a  wide range of clubs and sports that the children   can uh join. Um in the health health services  the focus is around the nursing services

009that   include physical and dental exams and it has been  recently updated for the new PA requirement around   um type 2 diabetes. Uh under the nutrition banner  we understand that Chartwells recently provided   an update to the board. So, we're not going to go  too deep into the um areas, but we know that um   we wanted to point out that a few things that Chef  Josh and the team have been working on. There's a   student there's student choice stations in the  middle school and high school where the kids   can choose from various things for their lunch  options. Um they made available um ingredient   details lists for on Neutra Slice in case you  wanted to see exactly for allergy reasons or   uh protein reasons what um a specific you know  meal encouraged or um the uh Chef Josh

010did   presentations on um dis Discovery Kitchen and mood  boost and they also had a local farmers market and   they try to bring in when they can locally grown  products for the students to sample and enjoy.   Um the group will meet again in the fall. Um  and we'll follow up with the board next May.   So I don't know if anybody has any questions,  but Dr. Han's here to help me answer because   I haven't been doing this very long. Um I don't  have any questions but I will say as um someone   who attends these meetings one of the best parts  of the meetings are the student representatives   who come and the input that they give. Um I  think in general they're give principles are   doing a great job of listening to the students and  I think the

011feedback the students keep saying is   we want more opportunities to give our input and  so I I think just keep giving those opportunities   to our students to give input on what's going to  help them in their wellness. Um, like last time   one of the students talked about how they were  happy that there was more fruits and vegetables   being offered at lunch. And so I think having the  creative ways that we can think about offering our   students the chance for for them to give their  input on wellness. But they're all doing a great   job of doing that. I just mean keep going. Keep  keep doing that. Yep. Great. Thank you. Great.   Thank you so much and best of luck in chairing  the committee in the future. Happy to have you   on board. Uh up next we

012are going to turn to our  third grade math unleveling discussion and we will   also wrap in there a little update on unleveling  ELA fourth and fifth that occurred uh last year.   Uh you may recall if you were present or watched I  think what was maybe our longest meeting ever. Um,   in June of last year, uh, our wonderful principles  and several teachers came to present, uh, to share   a little bit about our practices for grouping  students at the elementary level. Um, what   they shared on that evening was a little bit of  research about how leveling can impact and that's   called level. Homogeneous grouping is um you know  the definition of that is to to group students in   like groups according to their achievement uh or  student performance levels. Um and heterogeneous   grouping is to sort of

013mix everybody all together  no matter what your achievement level is. And so   uh back in June of 25 our our principles came to  us and and shared a plan to unlevel fourth and   fifth grade English language arts. Uh so we talked  a little bit at that time about uh what kind   of professional development the teachers would  engage in, how we would plan for these things,   where students would still get some differentiated  support based on um their uh achievement levels   and their growth. And then um at the time we  also shared that you know we are one of few   districts that was still leveling anywhere um  and ELA was the place we wanted to start and   um folks on the board had asked us well what about  math or are you going to do math and

014so we said   well we're going to do ELA first let's see what  we learn and uh figure that out from there but   we did anticipate coming back at some point and  um having some kind of recommendation about math.   Um the group did talk uh through their meetings  last year as well as updating those this year   um and did and decided not to bring forward  unleveling all of elementary math but rather   postponing the leveling of elementary math till  fourth grade. It's currently happening in third   grade and um the folks who are about to speak are  going to share that with you. Um it was um you   know part of the thinking is to delay that another  year, give students a chance to gather some more   um of their knowledge, consolidate some things.  We can get even

015more data about how they're doing.   Um and then we are not at this time recommending  changing any practices for fourth or fifth grade   math. We're only talking about unleveling third  grade math. So, um I hope I didn't steal all of   the things you were going to say with that  introduction, but I would like to introduce   um uh Miss Leech is here. She's our our Chestnut  Wall principal. Dr. Adalzy is here. She's our   Manoa principal. Um Heather Miss Panero is here to  talk about the ELA piece of it. Um and we have in   the back some other elementary principles. Uh Dr.  McGilly, uh Miss Metaker, and uh Miss Mastercola.   So, thank you all for being here. If you don't  mind taking us through a little bit of our   journey and what our plans are. Sure. Thanks,

016Miss  Saxa, and thank you to the board for having us   back again to continue the conversation regarding  leveling in our elementary schools. Tonight, we're   sharing the idea of shifting away from leveling  in third grade math, as you heard Miss Taxis say,   to ensure students have access, all students have  access to rigorous standards aligned instruction.   This decision is grounded in what research tells  us about how students learn best and how we can   maximize long-term outcomes for all students. So  this is not about lowering expectations but rather   it is about increasing access and maintaining  high expectations for every student. Tonight   I will share some of the reasons why we are  not continuing leveling in third grade math.   So we know that early leveling is not a reliable  measure of ability. Under our current practices,   decisions are made

017in the spring of second grade  when some of our students are just seven years   old. These early placement decisions often become  fixed pathways limiting future opportunities. When   recommending math levels in third grade, while we  have data to support the recommendations, student   performance at that at that age is still heavily  influenced by prior exposure, access to resources,   confidence, and language development. And we know  that these factors do not reflect a student's   true mathematical potential. While we were in the  process of discussing leveling practices specific   to ELA, as Miss Saxa mentioned last year, we found  that the overwhelming majority of our third grade   teachers have been asking for unleveling  for years. Um, and with ELA unleveling in   place this year, we've received largely positive  feedback from our teachers and families. Leveling   can also unintentionally widen gaps. Uh

018what can  happen as a direct result of leveling at such an   early age is that students in lower tracks can  experience slower pacing and reduced exposure to   complex problem solving over time. This can create  increased gaps in opportunity and achievement.   Removing levels ensures that all students have  access to rich standards aligned mathematical   thinking. Research also shows that all students  benefit from heterogeneous classrooms because they   develop stronger understanding when they explain  their thinking, engage with multiple strategies,   and learn from peers with different approaches.  That type of environment promotes deep conceptual   understanding, not just procedural skills. We  believe that flexible and resp flexibility and   responsiveness is more effective than fixed  placement. So instead of assigning students   to a level, heterogeneous classes along with our  MTSS or win time create a structure that allows   for ongoing assessment, responsive

019instruction,  and movement based on student needs. This ensures   students receive support or enrichment at  the right time, not based on a placement.   With the appropriate structures, those in need  of enrichment and those in need of intervention   can have both. Uh with that in mind, I want to  turn it over to Dr. Lizzy who will speak more   about how we plan to support while we currently  do and how we continue to support all learners. Thank you. Good evening. Thank you for having  me tonight. Uh Dr. Hayes, school board,   Miss Saxa. Um so I'm going to talk a little bit  about how then we how we support learners and   some of that is growing on some of the things that  we already do. Um and we already do really well in   first and second grade where we

020are not currently  leveling. Uh the first thing I want to talk about   we you hear a lot and I I go to a lot of board  meetings and I watch all of the board meetings if   I'm not here is wind time and just for like common  shared vocabulary that stands for what I need. At   the elementary level students take ELA and math  benchmarks three times per year. Uh we use MAP   which is the measures of academic progress as well  as ASWeb to look at reading. Since we're talking   specifically about math um we use that information  that we get from MAP. We get classroom assessment   data and we meet with each grade level team as  a data team and we look at where are students   performing, what do they need and we create groups  based on

021that student information. Those groups   uh we meet every six weeks and those groups are  very flexible every six weeks depending on how   a student student is performing um and depending  on what that student needs at that time. And so   sometimes we're focusing on foundational skills in  win groups. We could be focusing on intervention   uh enrichment or even what I would call like  superenrichment extension uh and because the   group groups are flexible and data driven they  offer opportunities for change. So in third grade   if you level a class when they get in there  in September that that's that's their level.   Whereas in win groups, we can be super responsive  at that six week mark to move a student up based   on teacher feedback and student data. Or if a  student needs more, we can we can

022adjust at that   point. Another term that you're going to hear  used is something called cluster grouping. And   cluster grouping is where advanced learners uh are  intentionally grouped within a heterogeneous class   uh so teachers can provide enrichment, deeper  discussion, and more collaborative challenges   uh on a day-to-day basis. And this is something  that even in our current model, even within an   enrichment class, our teacher feedback is that  we're already doing a lot of that even within an   enrichment class because there still is um some  wide variety of need. But that helps maintain   that inclusive learning learning environment for  all students. Uh I think a question that often   happens is, you know, what do what do we do with  the kids who re really need a lot more or of the   kids who are really picking up that

023math pace  fast? And so I think it's really important to   um you know look at how we do both of those  within a class. Teachers are using a lot of   formative assessment and formative assessment  really does that it informs a teacher as to   where their students are in in a current moment  and then students are adapting their instruction.   So that could be an entry uh question when the  kids walk in the room. Hey, how did the kids do   on that? And where do I need to group and adjust  instruction based on that? kind of like a pretest   uh or uh hey where are the kids who are super  advanced and really already have now the have   nailed down that concept what are they going to  do and what does that look like and like I

024said   that is something that's already happening within  our classes um it's not necessarily always about   then just moving faster through the standards  right our job is to make sure that ch children   leave third grade knowing the state standards  um it's about especially for those advanced   learners going deeper into those standards  and so maybe working on more applications   Maybe they're working on um some dialogue  and discussion. Maybe they're helping to   uh try and break down a problem as to hey, this  is the wrong answer, but let's explain the why   is that the wrong answer and what do what do  we need to do to make the correct answer? So,   there's a lot more complex thinking or they're  working on multiple solution pathways to the   same problem. And so, for some students, you  might say, "Hey, we're

025going to solve it this   way." And now you're challenging some students.  Okay, how else could we solve it? All right. Now,   if I took this away, how else could you solve it?  And they're working on maybe the same problem, but   they're really digging deeper. And everything that  you read about mathematical knowledge, it's really   about developing critical mathematical thinking  skills. It's not always just about, you know,   continuing to to just get to as many math skills  as possible. It's really digging down deeper. Uh we will continue to monitor this and to measure  success, looking at student growth over time.   um that is part of what we look at in our data  meetings at the school level and then also what   we look at in our larger district meetings across  all of the elementary schools. Um and

026I think just   to echo uh what Miss Leech has said, you know,  our goal is to ensure that every single student   um has access to rigorous math learning. Um  the goal that you would talk to any teacher   is that you need to be flexible and you need to  be responsive to the students that are sitting   in front of you. And so that's something that we  continue to do and we continue to get continued   professional development from our math coaches  um and from our math department on what that   looks like. Uh students receive support if  they need it, but also uh increased rigor   and increased challenge if it's necessary. Um  and so ultimately it's to develop confident,   capable mathemat mathematicians. I should have  said that word earlier in my presentation. Um   uh at every level of

027readiness. Okay, thanks Dr.  and uh Miss Leech. I think um one thing I will   point out also to add on to what Dr. Adelizzy was  talking about with those cluster groups is that is   uh there's some fairly new practice. This is the  first year our um seminar teachers. So these are   teachers of our gifted students uh have a  new model for how they are addressing not   only students who have gifted IEPs but also highle  learners. They are just now starting to push into   math classes. They started this year with third  grade and they're able to address those cluster   groups. It's a second set of hands. It's somebody  else working with the teachers. It's somebody who   can pull that small group while the the regular uh  general ed classroom teacher is working with other   students. Um

028and their this you may not you may  or may not remember this is part of the plan that   David Parker brought to the board when they did  their gifted audit. So their plan was this year's   third grade, next year's fourth grade, third  and fourth, and the year after that is third,   fourth, and fifth. So um and this is happening not  only in math, but also in English language arts.   So it's just another little support not only for  the students who, uh may need additional support,   but also for the students who need a little  stretch. Uh and so this is the first year,   but we are pleased to see that that's happening  in all the buildings now. And something that will   really contribute to third grade once it becomes  unlevelled. Anything else I missed in there?

029We   thought maybe we'd bold in the ELA update to this  piece before we take questions because they're   probably related or maybe you have questions about  both. So if it's okay with everybody, we'll just   like Heather will give us also with a little local  color from our principles. uh how we're doing so   far, you know, so far with ELA unleveling and then  we're happy to take questions. All right. So, as   you know, we unleveled fourth and fifth grade ELA  this year. Um we had an update a couple of months   ago and we kept getting bumped board meeting by  board meeting. So, I know some of the questions   that we got were like we've we've been waiting  for this update. Um we're pleased to bring it to   you tonight. When we originally came to discuss  the idea

030of unleveling fourth and fifth grade,   it was shared that we would use curriculum based  assessments and anecdotal information to update   you on the performance of our students. For the  purposes of comparing this data, I utilized our   trimester 2 test tracker information that includes  our curriculum based assessments. And when   tracking the data, we're seeing very growth varied  growth trends amongst our students. Our current   fourth graders showed incredibly strong gains in  writing and had some less growth in comprehension   and vocabulary than compared to their third  grade trimester 2 assessments. Our current   fifth grade students demonstrated growth in all  three areas assessed: comprehension, vocabulary,   and writing as compared to their trimester 2  assessments last year. I also plan to identify   trends in trimester 3 as we get those results in  as well once we complete everything for the

031year.   Another data point that we felt would help  provide a picture of progress was our map   data. Our map data from the winter shows some  initial year-over-year dips within our cohort   groups. For example, the number of students in  the 90th percentile or higher decreased slightly   in the fourth and fifth grade cohorts as compared  to their 2425 school year data. However, as we've   shared at the previous board meetings, it's also  typical to expect an implementation dip when   implementing new pedagogical practices associated  with a new curriculum. Given this information,   it's difficult to determine whether this is due  to implementing a new curriculum, unleveling class   uh unleveling classes or other practices. Um but  we're eager to continue to monitor our spring map,   our curriculum based assessment, and our  PSSA data to identify which trends ex uh   persist throughout

032that data. I will share that  feedback from teachers and administrators about   unleveling has been very positive this year. We  have had reports of increased student engagement,   stronger discussions grounded in text, and greater  comfort with grade level materials when we pulled   our teachers. Moving forward, we we will continue  to refine our instructional practices to support   growth, including identifying opportunities  for small group reading instruction to target   student needs, intentional professional  development experiences such as the end of   module planning and coaching from great minds that  we're participating in with a focus on productive   struggle for all students. And we will continue to  prioriti prioritize structures that ensure support   is responsive across all levels of learners,  providing targeted intervention and meaningful   enrichment to promote growth. To help provide some  additional context, I'd like to invite some of our   elementary

033administrators that you've heard from  to share also what they're seeing in classrooms   and how this shift has been impacting teaching and  learning at the building level for our students. Hi, I'm back. Thank you again. Um, so I I think  the main thing from a principal's perspective,   right, is you're walking into a fourth grade ELA  class or a fifth grade ELA class and the variety   of diverse perspectives that students now are  getting within a heterogeneous group is really,   you know, second to none. you you have um students  who may have traveled the world um being able to   share their experiences and particularly I know  we have students who might be from a different   part of the world sitting in class being able  to share their experiences and so when you have   a homogeneous group and you

034you you start to  piece that out you don't have that same exact   diverse perspective and so when you're looking  at a curriculum especially like Whiten Wisdom   um that is about perspective right that it's  about being able to see the world and see a   an experience through the lens of somebody else  who might be similar or dissimilar to you. Um,   now you're sitting in class with many more  experiences. Um, and so it it really makes   it very relatable. And again, I know this was  something that we touched on last year, but not   once have I heard this year, oh, I'm heading into  the low class, right? And that matters to kids,   especially if they're at an age of eight or nine  years old and they're starting to like shape and   figure out who they are as

035a person and they're  starting to say, "Am I a kid who can do this? Am   I a kid who can be a mathematician? Am I a kid who  can be a writer?" We don't want to interfere with   that self that self-image and that development of  of who they are, right? That's something that we   need to try and hone um and really grow that  they can be whatever they would like to be,   our job is to make sure that they have all the  skills and the tools needed to be able to get   to to that um point that they would like to be at.  And so I think that from a principal's perspective   um who you know is with kids every single day  uh up until like 20 minutes ago at the art show,   uh not

036hearing that talk amongst each other uh  is a really positive thing for our community. Great. Thank all. Thank you both. Uh uh and of  course um thank you all I should say for the   information about the unleveling in third grade.  Yeah, if you guys stay there for a second just in   case there are questions that you would better uh  better be able to answer. Um I did want to also   mention the win time that what I need time that  is 45 minutes daily. It alternates uh between   ELA and math. And as you heard, it is um based  on um student needs as assessed at least three   times a year. Um I will also mention though that  students do get pulled for other things during win   time. Right? So students who have seminar classes  get seminar

037during when instruments happen during   when if you get um speech and language therapy  it may happen during when e services may happen.   Like when is a is a busy time, right? So it is  not um you know it's not a panacea. It it is a   helpful additional support but that's why we're  talking about what's happening in the actual   classroom as well. And um Dr. Adalzy uh mentioned  that Whitten Wisdom professional development that   we had occurring at all of the buildings this  year. In fact her her building kicked it off. And   um one of the things we're hearing as a result  from that is um teachers saying to us, "We   think we've been over scaffolding like this is not  enough independent practice for kids. Can we start   giving this assessment differently? Can we count  this other

038assessment instead?" Like as they're   getting to know it and as they continue to hear  from, you know, the wit and wisdom people, it's   something I think we we're all working toward. So  I I don't think anything's, you know, we're we're   not in perfect territory here, right? we are in  we we wanted to do this it it was the right thing   for students um but we're still working out the  kinks of how to make sure we're still addressing   every student and we're going to continue to build  on that. So with that I'm sure there are lots of   questions happy to answer whatever you have or  whatever we can and bring you answers what we   can. Sure. How about you go first? Um I guess  can we get that data from especially from the   growth perspective? Hearing

039a lot of um anecdotal  positives about the um ELA, but it sounds like the   data itself I think you said varied and mixed.  Um and so would like to see that data and make   sure that we're tracking that over time, comparing  that with the classes who came before it who were   leveled. Obviously, we have um a lot of accolades  coming to our high school students and our middle   school students, right? And they all went through  that leveling system. Um so, something was going   right there and we want to make sure that  we're not missing something with this. Um so,   I think that data first and foremost will be  really important. Um, and I think too making   sure that it is broken out, not just overall  data, but I think you know the real concerns   with

040unleveling are going to be about that top  uh 5 10% and that bottom 5 10%. Um, because   those are the kids that get lost. So, um, really  looking into what's um, what's happening there.   Um, I'd also like to hear more about clustering  and um whether that's a new practice or and how to   make sure that there is enough clustering within  the classes. Um, because I think in prior years   that wasn't done. Um, and so making sure like what  do we consider a cluster? Who do we consider a   cluster? And how is that working for the students  themselves? When are they being put together with   that cluster and when are they not? um would like  some more information on that. And um I think I   heard a lot about informal pre-esting. Um but I  think when

041we're talking about math specifically,   um I'd like to hear a little bit more about  formal pre-esting and seeing if there are   students who already know the curriculum that's  about to be taught to them and what's going on   um with them. I think some of our classes are  doing that now. Um the high achieving classes are   doing that and even in those classes, the students  already know what's about to be taught to them.   Um, so just making sure that we have those  formal pre-esting in place. Obviously that's   um I've now moved on to math. There was a lot in  the presentation. Um, but I you know just making   sure that we're not putting too much on the win  time. I appreciate you laying out for the board   who might not have elementary students um with  how

042much is actually trying to get pushed to win.   And I and I have some concerns about how much  we are trying to focus on win when these other   students are getting pulled in a lot of different  directions. And if that's when a lot of their um   that's when that's when a lot of their enrichment  is supposed to happen, but they're already   uh occupied with other things, then they're kind  of getting lost if there's not enough happening   within the classroom itself. Um so I do think the  concern really more lies with what is happening in   the classroom. Um, and I had a question because  I know, and this this was a concern last year,   um, when we talked about unleveling ELA with, you  know, the students, um, having like an unfortunate   idea that they're in a

043certain class over another.  I mean, what is the strategy to not have that   happen during win time? If win is being split up  in basically levels, um, are there like is there   not a feeling then of I'm not in the the smart win  class, the low wind class, whatever it is. I mean,   it seems to me like it would be the same, but  is that not happening? I'll answer, but if any   of the principles want to chime in, I think the  um fact that those groups change more frequently   and sometimes they like you could be in one group  one set of six weeks and another group another set   of six weeks. It's less of like an identity of  I'm in here and I'm I'm there. But but you guys,   if there's anything to add to

044that because you  hear from kids more than I do. Yeah. I mean,   I think I think the big difference, right,  is is just to kind of like visualize it. So,   if you're in a hallway and there's let's just  take fourth grade and there's two fourth grade   classes next to each other. You have half of your  kids walking into one room and half of your kids   walking into another room and there's a lot of,  you know, they're they're quite literally passing   each other by at win time. like in some of our  wind time groups at Monoa, we have as many six   or seven groups all happening at the same time,  right? And so where those things are happening at   even across the building is very different. Um and  so there's even just less exposure to like

045what   is going on in that wind room. I actually have,  you know, the kid from I know what's going on,   but the kid doesn't know what's going on,  right? And so I think that that's really like   the big difference as to why you don't have  that happen. And I think because it is very   um it is very fluid. Um and depending our just  to kind of um when we meet for data meetings,   we do have a lot of information um from that MAP  test about which standards kids are strong in   um which areas we need to focus on. And our win  groups are super responsive. Like we build our win   groups based off of that cohort of student data.  And so the cluster group I'll I'll you okay um you   know our our regular education

046teacher they come  to the meeting with here's my kids here are the   the 25 kids that I'm responsible uh for this year  I can see that there are six or seven kids who are   all in in the 95th percentile and above. Okay,  they come to me, what they're already thinking,   what am I doing for those kids? What does that  look like? How am I adjusting instruction? Um,   and and we're going through each of those groups  of kids, kind of bands of students, and saying,   okay, do we have what we need? At times, we might  not. And that's why our math coaches are at our   data meetings. Um, our lead ELA teacher is at  those meetings to say, okay, hey, I think it looks   like we have some kids who really need to work on  this

047type of writing. All right, what resources,   what tools do we have? How do we uh form a win  group to make sure that those students have what   they need for math? Like this year, for example,  geometry was just something that we needed to   work. We had just a larger number of our highest  achieving students who really needed to work on   geometry. So, what one of our win groups was  students um some may had GIPS but were just,   you know, really high achieving kids but had that  um for whatever reason that geometry uh standard   area was just a weaker point. So, our gifted  support teacher is working with those students,   but then also really working on, you know, beefing  up those geometry skills because that was just   like we would call it like a relative weakness 

048um for them. Does that help answer the question   a little bit? Yeah. I I think the question for me  is making sure that there's enough of a cluster   in a classroom for the student like not just  having one other child that they can then work   with sometimes and and feel that like to build  on top of each other because I mean you know like   when kids are bouncing ideas off each other and  everything that can be really important. I think   that's where the clustering comes in. And so,  um, you know, a lot of evidence is anecdotal,   but I do think that clusters even haven't existed  in the past or have been too small to, I think,   be considered a cluster. And so, just making sure  when those classes are being made next year and   unleveling

049um that there is a sufficient cluster  of students in each classroom to to have those   like conversations. Um, so I think that's like  a different area. Um but a different question   um because I think and this is a concern that was  brought up last year when since Winton Wisdom was   brand new last year and having a new curriculum  and a new um pedagogy at the same time like what   is the strategy to figure out where is the problem  coming from if there is a dip in growth like h how   is that going to be parsed out? Yeah, it's a good  question because and and that's not just with this   that's like in any year that's the challenge of  education is there are so many variables to the   students success um that it's very hard to

050parse  it out sometimes and say that it was definitely   this one thing and not this other thing. Um so  we just have confounded variables with this one.   Um we are going to be looking at trends you as you  mentioned you know um Heather talked about looking   at students who scored in the 90th percentile or  higher. She just mentioned that one. We looked at   all of them, but you know, that was that was the  one we knew people were thinking about last time.   Um, it will be difficult to extrapolate whether or  not uh you can attribute student success or lack   thereof to a new curriculum or to the unleveling  practice. Um, I think the best we could do is that   time um with implementation, you typically see it  takes about three years to have a full

051successful   implementation of new curriculum. And so if you  were to follow a trend after the three years and   saw that it was still an issue in year four,  you might start to say, "Okay, wait a minute.   The curriculum should be pretty well underway  now. This should not be an issue anymore. Are   we continuing to see something where students  aren't making the growth as we expected or   aren't hitting the achievement percentiles that we  used to, then we would be able to better be able   to isolate that as a variable versus, you know,  when they're both so new." Um I will just throw   out there another confounding variable is the  fact that the state has changed how they report   PEOS scores as well. So um last year they changed  from a model where they were um you

052were sort of   like staying like did you meet your rank where you  were last year or did you kind of go down or kind   of go up and now it's just did you meet what we  projected and we projected what you did based on   what you did before. And so most people meet what  they're projected unless you have like a really   um strong influence to move you up or move you  down. So that even is challenging. And then throw   in that map changed their norms. So right we  have all of these things. The nice thing about   map changing their norms is that they changed  all of the data back in the system. So it is not   comparing old norms to new norms. So that's really  helpful. Um, but those are all things we're trying   to

053take into consideration as we judge this. A  and that's another reason why we use curriculum   based assessments just to see like, hey, how are  last year's trimester 2 assessments versus this   year? And we'll keep doing that as well. Yeah, I  I think reviewing the wit and wisdom programming   as well. I mean, as it's going and just the  length of modules and how long it's it's going   between modules. Um, obviously it's unlevelled  and so I don't know if that has to do with it   going so slow. Um but you know I think that's  obvious that's a concern that um is is talked   about so and noticeable um from previous years.  So just thinking about that too. Yeah, I'm glad   you mentioned that. Um last year we were racing to  fit in three modules and this year

054like this week   I heard someone say we had time to do like this  extra suitcase assignment and and they did not   have that time last year. So I think we will find  that as we again iron out the implementation dip,   we are going to move a little bit more quickly  and be able to maybe fit in some additional units, but we will get uh I've written down your other  requests and we will get that information to   you. Okay. Yeah. And I just think it's going  to be really important to track this group,   track them over the next few years and compare  that with the students who are who had leveling   and how they're doing as well. Y absolutely. Can  I ask um a question about the clustering? Um would   you liken the the seminar teachers

055with clustering  similar to how you might um think about a special   ed teacher pushing into a classroom? Is it  similar? Um where they're they have their students   that they're helping to support, but they're also  supporting that whole group. Is that similar?   They're focused on their seminar students, but  also helping enrich the the rest of the class as   well. and not only focused on the students with GI  GIPs, but specifically they know there's a group   of high achievers in this. So, I'm going to pull a  group of yes, there are two people here with GIPS,   but there are six people who scored really well  on the last MAP assessment. So, I'm going to keep   pulling this group for a little while until we  get the next set of data and see if maybe oh,   I can

056pull in another person now. Um, so it is it  is similar to that and I I don't want to I am not   the expert on clustering. So, um I will ask David  Parker also, you know, to share in in sharing more   information about that um because I'm sure the  seminar teachers would be excited to talk to share   a little bit about how that's going. Yeah, I think  that would be great. Um and my other question has   to do with the ELA fifth grade cohort preparing to  go into the middle school. I imagine we're already   having those conversations with the middle school.  How does that um class placement look this year   compared to last year where students were leveled  and what data are we specifically looking at that   may change how we looked at things last

057year?  Yeah, great question. Um and I just happened   to talk to Dr. Heranne about this um today and  Heather's probably jumping at the bit because   she made the data uh spreadsheets. Uh I Heather  feel free to answer this. You want me to give it   a shot and then you correct me? Okay. Um so um  we every year we uh prepare some data for the   middle school that they use as a basis to start  their recommendations for class placements. It is   not like a bible you just like that's where they  start. Um and the information included on there   are things like uh the PEOS projections which  is like how growth projections uh prior PSSA   scores curriculum based assessments and grades.  Oh Dr. still here. um as well as teacher input and   um any year, not only

058this coming year, any year  they would sort of take a look at that list. It   really gets ranked according to you earn points  according to your scores on all those things.   You get a ranking and then like a certain  percentage of kids usually qualify to be in,   you know, a 6100 class instead of a a 6110  class instead of a 60 6,000 class, you know.   Um, so they will they still use all those data  points. The only data point they don't have is   what was their prior level and you used to get 10  points for your prior level being the enrichment.   Yes. See, I told you Heather would correct me.  Okay. Yes. Also map data looking at their map   benchmarking and looking at the growth though it  was five percentage points and we took those

059five   percentage points and attributed it to the growth  in math da map data over the year. Um, so that's   where we reattributed it to. So it wasn't like a  huge percent of the student's grade overall and   then the teacher still has the ability to make  a recommendation at the fifth grade level based   on what they know about the student similarly  anyway. Um so those conversations are still   had with the middle school team as they're going  through student by student. So it didn't adjust   the way that we kind of attributed all the scores  greatly and the map achievement data is on there   as well. Map achievement data. Map achievement  and then the growth. Yes, it's the smallest. I I find the argument of you know the social and  em emotional wellness angle of not tracking you  

060know not pigeon holing students to be very  compelling and because often I I guess you   could there could be a snapshot how's that person  performing you know you know in a certain subject   area maybe geometry it's not their strong point  but so my question is how and so I like the idea   of a dynamic you know being able to move but what  what would it actually mean if a student takes off   and how how's that implemented like if a student  takes off in the win groups you mean or um or   just you know initially you know they're they're  struggling and then and then they start you know   they get a spark and they start succeeding what  does it actually mean for them? Sure. What sort   of changes happen? Sure. Um well in our current  system

061it's possible you could change from one   level to the next. your, you know, report cards  come out, the teacher says, you know, look, little   Jenny Sax is doing great. I think we should move  her up. And, you know, parents say, "Yeah, that   sounds great." And they give it a try. Um, it may  mean a little bit of a schedule change depending   on which grade you're if I'm third grade, it's not  a schedule change. If I'm if I am, I may have to,   you know, change my ELA is offered at the time  of the enrichment math. So, now I have to go   down to it. It may, but it doesn't always result  in a schedule change. Um, so that is absolutely   possible. We do look for things like that. um it  doesn't happen it doesn't happen

062as a matter of   course like it does for when like for when it's  expected that's what we do. It would be more like   an anomaly for it to happen in a leveled class.  In um the instance where we're not leveling in   third grade next year, all that would mean is when  the teachers go to pull groups, you are now in the   after she's taught the lesson, you know, you are  now in a different group that she pulls at the end   of the lesson and you're you're doing problems  six through 10 instead of problems one through   five because a different group's working on this.  So it's that dynamic where you can shift. Mhm. I know there's a lot of of data to be gathered and  to gone gone through, but um I guess my question   is

063around kind of the goals or objectives  or how will we know that this is working and   um is it kind of on average and kind of in the in  the middle we're raising that or are we looking   all students like some of the way it's been  presented is that kind of upward trajectory and   opportunity. So are we is the goal then that um we  will have even more high performing students. Can   you just like when we have several years of data  like what will we be looking for to know if it's   working? Yeah, that is ultimately the goal is to  have more students who are higher performing and   have students grow in their performance. you know,  all students grow in their performance level. Um,   and also have students building an identity  around, you know, I

064can do this. I can be   a part of these conversations. I am a  valuable member of the class, whether   it says the person who knows more this minute or  the person who's learning more this minute. Um,   so it really is all those things. It is not only  the data. um you know there are there are a lot   of ways to try and get kids to learn more and we  try and do a lot all of them. This also has to do   with the social emotional piece as well. So but  we did as Heather said we um at the outset we're   looking at curriculum based assessments our our  goal to you know see to have more students scoring   higher on curriculum based assessments also on  MAP also on PSSA. So we'll have those actual   data points

065to measure. I will just note that  math is up for an audit next year. So, you know,   there's always going to be like a curriculum  shift in in some point. Um, and and that's,   you know, part of the picture. Um, so that is  our ultimate goal. Does that answer the question? Okay. Then, uh, thank you all for your  thoughtful and always thoughtprovoking   questions. It really feels like a thought  partner kind of um situation whenever we   come to these presentations and you have  questions like this. We want to make sure   that we're doing right by our kids and we um  really have such an amazing staff who really   feel like this is a good decision and we  are looking forward to coming back and   uh we really will have it on the count. We had it 

066on the calendar for February this year. We really   will mid year being back another update on how  we're doing. But in the meantime, we'll we'll get   the information that you're looking for as well.  Okay. All right. Thank you. And uh oh, you're not you're not done with me. I forgot I have one  more piece. I'm sorry. We'll do this part   uh pretty quickly here. I just  wanted to give you a quick update about um a shift in our curriculum review cycle.  As you as I've mentioned a couple of times,   we have since 2015 established a curriculum review  process that includes several steps where you know   systematically we go through every subject and  we take a look and we say all right this is your   year of math. We're going to have an audit and we 

067look at how are we doing in math. We look at what   is the world doing with math. We compare how  well we're teaching our standards to what the   standards are out there and we identify some gaps.  We look for some resources and then the next year   we develop new curriculum or we revise curriculum  based on whatever we found. The years after that   we implement it and then we monitor and that  has happened for all each of the subject areas.   Um and we sort of had to plot it out because  we wanted to make sure we were giving enough   attention and resources um and working at capacity  to make sure every subject gets reviewed. As we've   been doing this, we have noticed a few things.  While each curriculum gets reviewed, there are   certain things that are

068not curriculum specific  that don't have a space for the similar review.   I'll give you an example. Like let's say we were  doing a writing across the curriculum initiative.   There's no space. There's no curric there's no  year to work on writing on everything because   I'm I'm working on social studies over here and  then somebody else is trying to figure out math   over there. It there's no time for that. Let's  say we wanted to have a graduation project as   part of the high school graduation requirements.  There's no year to to work on that, right? Because   we're always only working on a subject. Um we  also have noticed that we compete a little bit   for professional development time because um  pupil services did a gifted audit at the same   time we did a social studies audit. They want

069to  talk to the general education teachers about how   to teach students with these needs and we need to  get the teachers to talk about what they're doing   with social studies. there's a little competition  for the very few professional development days we   have. And then also when you consider like who is  leading conducting the audits, the um teachers are   always the driving force of the audit, but they  are coordinated by our curriculum supervisors   and our pupil services supervisors and there  are two curriculum supervisors. So like every   year they are doing these things. it is hard to  continue to prolong like do a multi-year PD plan   or to continue to give your attention to the newly  implemented science uh curriculum when now you got   to hurry up and turn to math. So we we believe  that we

070can solve a lot of these problems that   we've experienced and capitalize on the success  of having a cycle by expanding the cycle to   include program review in addition to curriculum  review. So in order to do that, first of all, I'm   going just we want to finish the current cycle. So  nobody's not getting their attention. We're going   to do math next year and then all the special se  subjects are the year after. What we would do then   is the year after that, not a curriculum audit.  It would be we're we're saying right now it's   high school. We you know some sort of district  level program audit. We're thinking high school   because we haven't looked at that. Is there some  scheduling optimization that we want to do? Do we   want to have a lunch and learn? Are

071we looking at  intervening? Are we what is there anything that   has to do with high school that we want to look  at and we have the time to dedicate to it? Have a   year we start that process running and then we go  to a subject and then a couple years later we have   time to look at middle school and then a couple  years later we have time to look at elementary   and that can be somewhat flexible whether it's  middle or elementary first. But we just wanted to   make the space and the time. I think you know this  is not the reason for it. It has the potential to   also spread out those big chunks of spending that  happen. You know, science audit followed by a math   audit, you're going to have some pretty expensive  things.

072If there's a year in between where there's   a lowcost program change that we're talking about,  you might end up having some spread out of the   stress on the budget. Although again, that's not  the reason to do it. Um, so for all those reasons,   we are looking at revising our curriculum cycle  to now be a program review cycle. and we wanted   to just bring that to this group, see if there  were any questions or anything we could further   elaborate on. So, this wouldn't replace the the  the subject reviews, it would simply supplement   them and it wouldn't be any impacts on capacity.  I everybody's busy. Yeah. I mean is is is there   any concern that by letting the subjects go a  little bit long you know go a bit longer in the   current cycle is is there

073any concern there of of  we don't want to fall too far behind the current   practices and the current um you know the cadence  of how quickly we do it. Yeah exactly is that I   mean that is definitely something we looked at.  Um, one of the reasons we even considered doing   this is it seemed like we our turnaround was sort  of quick. Like we were implementing implementing,   monitoring, auditing again. Well, as you heard me  say before, it was like three years to get even   anything under your belt and all of a sudden we're  it's like one year later and you're looking again   like, "Oh, wait." So, um, but that being said,  you don't want to go too long, right? You know,   especially if it's not working so well. So,  uh, we will always have things that

074could sort   of interrupt the cycle and and make it faster.  You know, number one, a change in your terminal   assessment. You know, there's a new AP exam, the  standards change. There are reasons why we might   need to bump you up in the cycle. Number two,  our amazing course selection guide at the high   school is fueled by this curriculum review cycle,  and we don't want them to have to wait seven,   eight years to propose or implement a new course.  So we are going to like you can't see it there but   in the dark blue um it's it's monitor 2 that's  where we would allow um we normally would only   allow the proposal of new courses after the audit  cycle. We will also allow the proposal of new   courses you know under certain criteria in that in 

075that monitor too. So it's halfway through. You're   still getting a chance to do that because those  are the same concerns that you that you share.   I saw a lot of time between artists and I'm like  yeah it's a lotfortable. Well a lot changes a lot   changes in seven years but there are intermittent  ways of like yeah sort of looping that in. And   I should have mentioned um teched we're going  to look at every three years because you know   good luck staying on top of teched right. That's  definitely needs to be done as well as the tech   plan. We're going to align those two things. Um,  so we we do we'll have like a little mini audit   and teched is going to get looked at with math  and with science and they are spread out. So  

076that's how we're going to do that. I just want to  say I think it's a great idea to look at things   broadly. I think sometimes, you know, you get lost  in the trees, you can't see the forest. And when   we're thinking about the whole building, the whole  child, making sure that um you know, if we're just   focused on the 45 minutes here, we miss the the  seven hours that that they're there, right? And so   um I I think this is a great plan. I like I had  some concerns going from like a sixyear schedule   to 9year schedule. Um but, you know, it sounds  like there's some uh some safeguards in place   so that things don't get get missed when they're  not getting looked at. So um or scrutinized uh as   as often as as before.

077But I think this a really  good plan. Thank you, Sunny. Great. Thank you. Okay, there are no other questions. I  believe those are all of our presentations,   Miss Lee. Thank you. Back to Dr. King. Okay, so thank you. Let's continue on with the  finance committee. Dr. Shoutton. Thank you,   Dr. King. And we have a pretty robust um finance  agenda. Hopefully we can move through it. And I   think the highlight here, the first item here is  the PFM presentation from Ian Tyson and Hannah   Frederick. Um as the board may recall, we uh  approved a contract to take a look at long-term   financial planning and I'll throw it over to Mr.  Test in case you want to add some comments about   that. Absolutely. So, we did engage uh PFM for  some long-term financial planning and what um

078what   has culminated over the time that we've worked  together um we've provided financial information   to the group. Um they've pulled information  down from PTE as far as um from district from   other districts from what state information  they have, some market data um meetings that   we've had with myself and Dr. Hayes and PFM to  kind of put together this preliminary report that   they're bringing to you this evening. Um, so this  evening it's more of a look at where we've been   financially, where we are today, and kind of what  would the future look like if we continue to spend   at the levels that we're at and and receiving  the revenues that we receive. Um, so we will   walk away with some um maybe some stressors on the  budget and things that we could start to look at.  

079they will come back in October to kind of give  us those um not directives but really guides   to say okay if you kind of go down this path you  can help the budget you know balance and that's   really the goal is to get the budget balanced  within a short number of years so we have that   confidence each year um that we're we're building  a sufficient budget we're covering the programs   um that that we need to do so like I said they  will come back in in October and kind of review   that with us um we're also they have just sent  out some I believe some of the other districts   their AFRs their annual financial reports PTE just  posted them for 2425 um for for various reasons   some districts don't get them posted on a timely 

080basis so it looks like they have most of our peer   group districts um I think we're waiting for maybe  one more um once we have that information then   they'll be able to come back with some per pupil  spending some comparisons to what we look like   with our peers and help to drive some suggestions  there um so while we are set to approve the 2627   budget this month. Um, this report is kind of  coming after that, but it doesn't preclude us   from being able to take some of that and kind  of work with that during the year. So, we're not   locked into necessarily what we have. Um, we can  definitely work with some of those suggestions,   but primarily it will be for the 2728 budget is  really where we want to focus and kind of drive  

081um, what they're providing for us. So, um, I will  turn it over to Ian and Hannah to kind of take us   through what they have this evening. Thank you  for that. Um, so we are here tonight from public   financial management. Um, Hannah and I, we are  new faces as Dr. Shelton alluded to. We started   working with you in January. Um, but PFM, the  Royal Wii, has been working with you for a while   on debt issuance um, for bonds for projects to  renovate school buildings and do new construction.   So, here tonight, we're here to focus on your  operating budget. So the 26 27 budget is the   building block, one of the main building blocks of  what we use for our analysis. And we're looking at   this from a couple of different lenses. Um, now I  know

082that, you know, budgets and finance, they're   not for everyone. You know, I love numbers. I love  looking at them. So I get very excited doing this   work. Um, but really budgets are best when they  recede into the background. This is a tool that   you have to do the things that you do best, to  educate the children, to make sure that the lights   stay on, to make sure that the buses get there on  time. So, one of the reasons why we're here is to   make sure that the investments that you make today  can be sustained over time. So, we're looking   at making sure that those investments, whether  that's in contracts, programs, facilities, can   be sustained with the dollars that you have today  and within a reasonable expectation, the dollars   that you may have in the future.

083Um, we also want  to look at expanded programs. So, needs arise,   um, desires change, you may want to change the  way that you, um, structure your programs or offer   things for students. and we want to make sure that  you can afford that over time. And then lastly,   kind of um to go back to the discussion about  technology improvement and curriculum investment,   some of those are cyclical investments. You  know, you may make an upfront investment for   one of those things, but you know, you want  to make sure that you have the capacity in   your budget to continue to make those investments  over time. So here tonight we're going to look at   our multi-year financial projections which is the  first part of our of our work here to look at can   the district sustain its budget within

084the legal  limitations that the Commonwealth places on you   as a school district. So one of the key acts of  legislation that affects school districts is act   one of 2007 which sets the maximum millage rate  that a school district can raise its real estate   taxes for. So that's one of the constraints that  you work against as a school board. setting the   tax rate is one of the few decisions that you have  that can affect your revenues. So that limitation   really affects the growth in that one side of the  budget, the revenues. So with that, my colleague   Hannah is going to walk us through some of the  trends in the district's enrollment and finances. Thanks. So we wanted to start off with a little bit of a  discussion about the district's enrollment trends   over the last couple

085of years. Um obviously the  size of the student population and the relative   level of needs of those students um ties in  closely to the budget and the the scale of   investment um across a lot of the district's  spending. So, I'm just wanted to provide some   context up front for what we're seeing in  these these numbers and hopefully that that   ties in into the um next year's budget process  as well as some some different decisions across   uh the the upcoming school year. Um so, first  we look at some enrollment data from about from   from the past decade. Um we get this from the  October enrollment snapshots that the Department   of Education posts for all of the school districts  in in the Commonwealth. Um uh as we can see here   um the district's enrollment has fluctuated from 

086about 5800 up to north of 6,600 over the course   of the last decade. Um from 20145 through  2223 we saw really steady enrollment growth   year-over-year over year. um a little bit of a a  stronger upward trajectory um through from 201617   um up until those first kind of pandemic years.  Um however in the last two years of data that we   see here in 23 24 and 24 25 seen two years  um and I believe in the the 2526 data that   recently got released as part of that new AFR  data. We'll we'll see um a third year there of   uh downward trajectory. Um not um you know any  kind of major cause for concern. We're still   hovering in this last year of data reported and  a loose historical average level of enrollment   over the last decade. Um,

087but this is what we're  starting to see um in in our most recent reports. Um, we can break this down by the individual  building level. Um, try to start to contextualize   where we're seeing growth, but also where we're  seeing some of that recent decline. Um between   2014-15 and 2223 uh the the growth that in  enrollment that the district experienced was   pretty uh evenly dispersed across these three  building levels of the elementary, the middle   school and the high school. Um however, the uh  little bit of decline that we've seen um since 22   23 has really been concentrated at the elementary  and middle school levels or those those younger   grade levels. um the element both the elementary  and the middle school buildings experienced   almost a a 3% decline over that 22 23 to 24 25  period. Um

088and the reason this is important to   highlight is is especially because that loss  is being seen at those younger grade levels.   um as those young grade levels progress  through the district's buildings,   um it it does have implications for, you  know, if if those smaller cohorts stay small,   uh the district can expect in the  upcoming years to maybe require less   um less in terms of scale of programs and staffing  and um smaller classroom sizes. All of those types   of decisions help with the long-term planning  that uh we hope to support the district with. um because so and in trying to sort of start to  explain some of some of that um enrollment loss   in the last couple of school years here. There's  a couple of different data points that we can look   at, but generally the

089enrollment loss will will  typically be tied to two main um factors here.   One is population trends. So does Hford Township  just have less school-aged children? um are you   know less families with children moving here  and staying here? That that is one uh potential   option. The other is school choice. So of this  of the families and of the students who reside   in Hford Township who are actually attending  the district's programs. Um there are a variety   of different options for for students to enroll  in in the Commonwealth. Um some are things like   charter schools and private schools. Um others  are things like special education placements where   um if the district cannot you know provide the  the appropriate level of service to a a student   with an IEP, maybe they would choose to place  that student in a

090in a school or a program that   better suits their needs. Those are um so yes,  population trends in school choice could could   be a determining factor in in why we're seeing  those numbers start to trickle down. Um because   of the proximity um of the district to a lot of  local private schools, we've chosen to highlight   one of the data points here from the census which  tracks the share of local students enrolled in   public schools as opposed to private schools. Um,  and this doesn't really explain the entire story,   but it does um, you know, add to the the  compelling trend that we're seeing at the   lower grade levels. Um, as you can see in the uh,  kindergarten category here, again, this is the the   share of students attending public schools. Um  from 2019 to 2024, which

091is the last couple of   uh years available of that census data, we've  seen a pretty substantial drop in the percentage   of students attending public schools. Um in  some of the other grade level categories here,   so 1 to 4, 5 to 8, 9 to 12, seeing a little  bit more stable and uh growth over time. Um   uh for grades 1 through 4, 5 through 8, 9 through  12, we saw relatively stable uh shares of students   attending public school 2019, 2020, 2021, and  for for many of them, we've seen an uptick in   the most recent years. Um grades 1 through four  has hit 85 84% in the last couple years. Um so on. Um, another one of the the suben enrollment  categories that we're going to track or or   recommend that the the district tracks um  is

092special education enrollment. Um, like   I mentioned the or like I alluded to earlier, the  the district does have an obligation to uh provide   the the appropriate level of services to students  with special education needs as outlined in a in   a respective IEP. Um and where this kind of ties  into the financial story which we'll get into is   that as the district uh you know as this so as  this uh as the district's share of students with   special education needs share being percent of  total enrollment increases um as it is required to   sort of uh increase its level of service delivery  across its student population. we could see the um   it put pressure on the other areas of the budget  um as a result. So more resources going to the   special education population and maybe less

093going  towards other areas of the budget. Um this chart   here shows the share of special education students  as a percentage of total enrollment both in the   district over the last decade but also at the  statewide level. You can see from 20145 through   201920 that first pandemic year um the district's  share of special education students did increase   uh pretty much alongside at the the same kind of  pace that the statewide rate increased. However,   starting in 202021, the growth in the district  share did start to taper off a little bit from the   the upward trajectory of the state. Um, so this  is going to be again something we'll want to to to   monitor um especially as that share potentially  grows or or does not grow in the future. So, starting to get into some of the district's 

094historical financial trends here. Here we take   a look at some of the the district's recent um  audited financial statements, the the results that   are reported in those. Um here in the the chart  we show total revenues, total expenditures and the   operating results. So that's just revenues minus  expenditures. We also show then fund transfers. So   for for any of the operating results that you see  in black, that is a a surplus of resources. So the   district generated s more than sufficient revenues  to cover its operating expenditures in a given   year. And so anything then in red is a deficiency  where the expenditures exceeded uh revenues in a   given year. So a fund transfer then becomes a a  transfer of any of the surplus resources. Um in   this case it's primarily to the district's capital  uh projects

095fund and the net result is then the   impact after the transfer. So the net result minus  the fund transfer. Um each of these consecutive   net results um impact the district's ending fund  balance. So a positive result will increase the   ending fund balance, grow the reserves that the  district has, and then a negative net result will   do the opposite. It'll draw down the district's  reserves. Um so as you can see since the 201819   school year, the district has had a a series of  really strong financial results. Um the the one   you know really minor negative result in 23 24 we  we see as discreet just comparing it to the size   of the district's uh you know spending level. Um  and the um the ability to generate these strong   positive results has also afforded the district  the

096ability to make consecutive transfers to its   capital improvement uh to its capital uh projects  fund. um which we really see as as a really strong   uh example of uh you know strategic financial  management. This is something we want to see   um that not only can the district cover its you  know recurring operating expenses on an annual   basis but it can make sustained investment in  its infrastructure um make you know perform   upgrades on its facilities invest in new buses  was a recent example as well. Um so so none of   the red that we're seeing here um is necessarily  a bad thing. This is you know the the planned and   intentional use of those resources to to invest  in the district and its its infrastructure. Sorry,   before we go off that just a couple of other  points

097to make here. This is what you want to   see in a budget. You want to see slight surpluses  or balance within the operating budget. So do   the recurring revenues that you have match the  recurring expenses? So that's the first line.   That's one of the measures that we look at. The  other is the fund balance. That's the running   result. The other one that we want to look at  is the fund balance. That's the running result,   positive or negative. And it can be a you can  kind of consider it like your savings account.   Do you have enough saved up over time to meet  your needs? It's a good thing to have because   it impacts your credit rating. So when you go out  to borrow, your fund balance is one of the things   that there's rating agencies will

098look at. Um,  the other good news that you can use it for is   for cash flow purposes. You go off, you issue  tax bills, it takes a while for that revenue   to come in. Some school districts have to go out  and do short-term borrowing while they wait for   that revenue to come in. If you have enough of  a fund balance, you don't need to do that. Um,   the other thing to take in mind is it's one time.  You use it and it's gone. So, what you want to do   is you want to match that one-time resource with  a one-time need. So something like capital, large   expensive project, you want to make sure that you  match that investment with a one-time need with   a one-time resource. So again, operating results,  that's what we want to see.

099We want to see either   a positive or nearly balanced. That's what you see  across the trend. But one thing you can notice is   that those results get smaller over time. And  so as you move out from 201819 through 2122   and onward those operating results that number  gets smaller until you get out to 234 when it's   slightly negative and then less than a million in  245. So that means that you can feel some of that   pressure building in the budget for the district's  recurring revenues for those recurring expenses. Thanks again. Uh last point here is  just that the the primary source of   these positive operating results in recent  years has been strong revenue generation. Um   part of that story was the one-time funding that  the district received during the post-pandemic   period for for uh COVID 19

100pandemic relief  initiatives. But as we'll jump into here,   um it is really not the the main factor that we  want to focus on. Uh the the district receives   revenues from three main sources. Local being  uh primarily uh tax revenue, uh state subsidies,   those are going to be uh subsidies for basic  and special education as well as uh some some   reimbursement funding for some of the district's  other operating costs. Um it also receives a   uh pretty small uh amount of federal funding. um  we saw that tick up a little bit during the the   pandemic years as a result of again that pandemic  relief funding. Um but title funding is the other   uh commonly referred to federal funding source.  Um as you can see from this this chart here,   our our local sources make up the the

101strong  strong majority of funding on an annual basis   for the district. um seen about 3% per year growth  in local revenues which has really been driven by   um the uh district's uh tax levy. So uh continuous  tax increases year-over-year over year has um   really helped the district to continue to generate  increases in revenue every single year. Spending   a little bit more time on real estate taxes  here. I think it's a little blurred out there,   but um here we show a chart which compares the  act one index real estate tax rates in a given   year. So like Ian mentioned, it's the maximum  allowable tax uh increase that a a district   can levy in a given school year specific to  Hford Township in this case. Um in blue we   see the increases that the district actually  levied.

102So um uh with the exception of 2122   where the county underwent a reassessment and it  it ended up resulting in a kind of restructured   uh miller rate in that year. Um here we really  want to reiterate um where and when the district   has used an act one index increase. As you  can see in uh 2018-19 201920 those yellow   uh uh rectangles indicate the district did use  the act one index rate that year. So the maximum   possible increase and we didn't see another act  one index increase until the current school year.   So 25 26 and and proposed in the 2627 budget.  Um the uh again even though the district did   not go up to that the index in the in a couple of  years of of a of a gap there um these consecutive   increases did

103really propel the district's revenue  forward um in the last couple of school years. Um   you also see beginning in 2728 in this case the  projected act one index rates. So just to give you   a little bit of an idea of this is you know based  on the most recent estimates from the IFO but   um that that those projected rates would  fall somewhere in the vicinity of 3 3.1 3.2%. Um to turn back to the couple of years here where  we did not see the act one index increases get   used. Um this should say 23 24 and 24 25 I believe  are the dark blue bar years and then 25 26 and 26   27 are the light blues. Those are budget years.  So those are just estimates right now. Um, we   wanted to talk a little

104bit about the opportunity  cost associated with a millage rate and and the   uh, you know, every every time the district  chooses or or or levies a tax increase that   falls below that maximum act one index increase,  there is an opportunity cost. In this case,   we kind of refer to it as foregone revenue.  Um so for illustrative purposes only we we've   gone back to 23 24 and 2425 and we've said  you know hypothetically had the district   uh increased its millage rate at the act one  index rate in 23 24 and 2425 how much more   in revenue could we generate in 2627 this is  all with the understanding that uh every tax   increase that the district uses has a compounding  effect on its milit rate. So you increase your   millage rate from last year, but if that

105if  last year's rate could have been even higher,   then um there there's lost revenue on the table.  Um, as a result of this exercise, we identified   an estimated $3.3 million in additional revenue  that the district um, again is estimated to have   generated by 2627 um, that it did not as a result  of living tax increases under the act one index. Um, so now we'll we'll jump into  the the other side of the equation.   uh the expenditure drivers. Um the the district's  budget is comprised primarily of uh salaries,   benefits, debt service, and spending on a couple  of other cost categories here such as contracted   services. So any of the um you know costs that  the district incurs for for programs and services   um really anything that it cannot provide with  its own uh workforce would show

106up in one of those   contracted services categories that could also be  something like utilities that that shows up there.   Um we performed an analysis of uh expenditure  growth both at the using um percentage increases   as well as dollar amount increases to really try  to figure out um where the district's uh increase   in costs every year is derived from what's really  pushing costs forward on a year-over-year basis.   Um and we identified a a couple of cost ca  categories that have had relatively rapid growth   over the last couple of years on a percentage  basis. Um we we highlight one example here,   the educational and operational services category  um had an average annual growth of 8.1% per year   since 201819. However, that 8.1% per year only  actually translates to $350,000 per year. So we   wouldn't necessarily flag that

107as a a major  expenditure driver in this case. However,   if we look at something like salaries had average  annual growth from 201819 to 2425 4.1% per year.   Um however this is equivalent to $2.5 million  in cost growth per year. If we look at the the   bar chart below, you can see that that average  annual growth in salaries makes up about half of   total expenditure growth per year. Um, and that  when we kind of combine salaries and benefits,   those being our cost of our people, with debt  service, we make up um the the large majority   of that total expenditure growth on a on a uh in  a given school year on average. Um again, so uh   the the salaries and benefits of district staff as  well as debt costs and other contracted services   um are really

108what's driving our expenditure  growth forward over the last couple of years. U   starting off with salaries, we'll just highlight  a couple of the major expenditure drivers.   Um salary growth uh spending on salaries is  determined by by two main factors. One is   um wages. What does it cost to to pay staff? But  also um staff headcount. So how many staff is the   district actually employing on an annual basis? Uh  those wage terms are determined by the district's   uh collective bargaining but also u more  informal staff agreements. those agreements   lay out for each of those staff groups listed um  what are the wages this year? Um how will salaries   and and hourly rates increase year-over-year  overear for the duration of the contract?   They they provide information on the district's  benefit contributions as well as other items like  

109um working conditions and things like that. Um  and because salaries are the district's largest   expenditure driver, it spending on salaries  will um be a pretty determining driver of total   spending, the the bigger spending picture.  Um like I mentioned on the previous slide,   salaries have increased by an average of 4.1%  per year. Um and again this is due to again   the the pair of the contractual wage increases  in those staff agreements as well as growth in   headcount over time. Um the if you turn to the  the chart here at the the bottom of the screen,   you can see that the spending on teachers and  other professional positions makes up the large   large majority of spending on salaries. Um and is  uh you know contributes an average of $1.3 million   in growth in cost growth per year

110just in that  teacher and professional position category alone.   um that which is not surprising um that that  teacher position is the largest salary driver   for every school district that we work with. Um  some of our other categories like I mentioned   um sometimes we see faster cost growth on  a percentage basis. Um so teacher stipens,   other compensation, um even operational  support staff, we see larger percentage   based growth. But um if you turn to the  average annual change in dollar amount,   those um you know average annual increase  in costs are are far less substantial. On the benefits side, um the two main drivers  of employee benefits are the the retirement   contributions on behalf of staff and healthc  care coverage. Um retirement contributions   are are typically a set percentage of spending  on salaries. So we will actually see

111spending   on salaries drive those costs areas. Those are  social security and pasers. Um for health care   um the district is a member of the Del County  Public Schools Healthcare Trust. So it receives   its uh premium uh rate growth from from  the trust every year um which is uh at the   more granular level determined by market  pressures and and claims activities. Um,   and this is actually uh a bit of an anomaly for  us. The the district has seen relatively low rate   increases for healthc care coverage over the last  couple of years. Um the the solid blue and orange   lines that you see on your screen are some of the  trends we've been seeing at the national level   um in terms of medical and prescription  rate growth. And then the district's   year-over-year rate growth is shown by

112the  dotted lines. So you can see that for both   uh health care costs and for for prescription  costs, the district's rates have fallen   uh you know below the national trends in each  of these last couple of years. In some cases on   uh for for medical insurance, the district  has actually seen negative change. So that's   year-over-year decrease in its premium costs. This  has allowed uh the district to to really contain   benefits cost growth um to an average of 2 and  a.5% per year which we call loosely inflationary tuition costs. Um, like I mentioned in  the the enrollment section of the report,   uh, there there are opportunities for students to,  um, enroll in programs or take part in programs   that are outside of the district's buildings. Um,  this is, you know, tied to two main ideas. One  

113is placement. So again, if the district is cannot  provide the the services that are required as part   of a student's IEP, um it might choose to place  those students in an outside uh school or program.   Um the other option here is school choice. So  uh a a family or a student might decide um they   want uh some form of alternative educational  program or opportunity and they might enroll   in a charter school, vacational school. Um all  of those options are at a cost to the district.   Um so the district does pay a tuition rate on  behalf of students who attend charter schools   and on behalf of students who are placed in in  outside locations to to receive special education   services. And while tuition costs don't make up  a a substantial piece of the district's budget,   just

1145% $7.4 $4 million and 2425. Um the reason we  want to call attention to this one is just because   of the the volatility that this cost area could  bring um in terms of costs and that's for two   main reasons. One, the district has very very  little control over the fact that students can   enroll in these programs. So it uh a placement  usually comes out of need. Um and uh enrollment   in something like a charter school or some form of  other educational opportunity is um really tied to   the the right to school choice in Pennsylvania. Um  and so as a result of the both the the district's   uh little control over both enrollment but also  the tuition rates that they end up paying on   behalf of these students. This is definitely a a  cost area that

115we want to play close attention to. Um lastly, we have contracted services. Um again,  this is going to be any kind of costs tied to   services procured outside of the district. um  IU services, any kind of other form of special   education services like a a vendor for example  who provides PT, OT, aiology services. We have   utilities here. Um any kind of repairs and  maintenance, anything tied to property. Um   these are all going to fall under contracted  services. And as we can see in the table here,   average annual growth across some of these  categories has been relatively large over   the ca over the last few years. Um this can  be um you know either because of the the   rising price that it that it um you know costs to  contract out or an increasing or an

116increase in   uh the the level of service invested in. Um  uh and the um about 5.7% per year increase   in cost in total contracted services cost here  equates to uh just over half a million dollars   in cost growth per year. Um with that I will  pass it to Ian for the financial projections. Thanks Anna. We're going to take a break before  we take a look at some more numbers and charts on   the screen. And just one of the key takeaways I  want you all to take is um when we look at these   charts um you know percentages are nice. They tell  us a trend but they don't tell us everything. Even   a large percentage increase on a small number is  still a very small number. And a small percentage   increase on a large number is

117a large number. So  what I mean by that is think of your real estate   tax. It's threequarters of your revenue budget.  Um but it's not your entire budget. So even if   you do raise your real estate tax rate by 3%, your  total budget does not grow by 3%. It'll grow by   three quarters of that. So the total budget might  grow by 2.25% rather than the full 3%. So that's   the one lever that you can control as the school  board is that real estate tax rate. And if you're   increasing it by 3%, that does not mean that your  overall pot of resources also grows at 3% at the   same time. Same applies on the expenditure side.  you know, 3% sounds reasonable, but if you apply   it to a large line item in the budget, that  dollar

118increase for teacher salaries is going   to look a lot more different than if it's, you  know, $700,000 on a tuition placement for charter   schools. So, keep that in mind when we talk about  growth here. Um, so on the on the revenue side of   the budget for real estate taxes, we're assuming  that the district continues to go at the act one   index for each of the five years after 20267. So,  this is again thinking back to that chart that   Hannah showed earlier. Your revenue budget,  well, your real estate tax is going to grow   by roughly 3% each year going forward. Um, for  state education funding, we're assuming continued   increases at the governor's proposed budget. So,  um, when Governor Shapiro proposed his budget,   he proposed a minimal increase in basic education  funding, another minimal increase in special  

119education funding, and a larger increase for  adequacy funds for underserved school districts.   What that means for the school district of Hard  Township is that as those dollars flow more to   through the adequacy funds, you know, you may just  see that minimum $50,000 increase from that. You   wouldn't see the larger pot of money flowing  through, which would mostly go to other school   districts. So on the revenue side of the budget,  again, real estate tax rates going to drive the   resources. We'll see some increase from state  funding and, you know, we could triple federal   funding and it probably wouldn't impact this all  that much. On the expenditure side for salaries,   we're assuming continued growth based on each  staff agreement. So it's roughly in range of   the historical amounts. As the contracts expire,  we just roll over the

120increase again. So we're   not assuming that the budget is going to balance  itself by holding those contracts flat at some   point. We're just assuming that you're going to  continue to do what you have done in terms of   staff negotiations in the future. Same on employee  benefits. We're going to carry those cost trends   forward, but again, like Hannah said, you have  been under the national trend. That can be a   pressure point in the budget. So, in one year, you  know, you may see a flat number or a decrease. In   some years, you might see a double digit increase.  You might see a 10% growth in health care costs   depending on the needs and kind of the mix of  what's going on within your individual plans. So   again, we're going to take the benefit there, but  again,

121realize that this can be a number that can   swing wildly from year-over-year. Debt service,  we have the outstanding debt service schedule from   all the issued bonds. So that we're not assuming  continued continued issuances for the capital   plan. So when you think of the building needs,  that's another thing that would need to be funded   on top of the operating budget going forward. And  now here we get to the baseline projections. And   my apologies, it's hard to read with uh with this  formatting. It looks a little bit different on on   our screen. So the bar on the left, that is the  20256 school year. So that's the current year   budget. The one one out from that, that's 267.  So that's the proposed budget for next year. And   then each year going forward, we show the annual  result

122and then the change in fund balance for   each of the five years after that. So in 20267, so  that second column there, um we show the operating   result um negative amount of 3.6 million with  a $ 1.4 million transfer for capital projects   that draws down the fund balance by roughly $5  million. So the other key takeaway that I want   you to take from this is that starting from this  position with a draw down in the fund balance,   you can only close that gap over time if the  revenues grow faster than expenditures. So if your   revenues are not growing as fast or growing in  line with the growth in expenses, then that number   is going to stay the same roughly more or less  give give or take. And that's what we're seeing   here in the chart.

123So if nothing else changes  other than raising the tax rate to the maximum   allowable increase without going to referendum,  sorry that's a mouthful, but that's the legal   limitation. Um you would see your revenues  grow roughly in line with those costs that   we talked about. This would cover the increases  in contractual obligations for staff. This would   cover roughly your historical trends and benefits.  This would cover your issued obligations for   debt service over time. And that shortfall would  remain in that range of 5 million growing to six   million over over five years. So that's minimal  growth in that shortfall over time. But again,   because those revenues are growing more or less  in line with those expenses, that persists. it   doesn't the gap doesn't close itself over time. So  you would have to make other decisions along the  

124way in order to asssure that you have a balanced  budget over time. Um what other takeaways can we   take from this one? You do have that fund balance.  So again think of that that number that we looked   at in those audited results. That's the savings  that you have over time. So that fund balance   would get drawn down and then eventually you would  hit a point where you have a negative balance   and then that's when the tough decisions come in.  That's when you may have to issue that short-term   debt um to make it through the year for cash  flow purposes. If the problems get further along,   you may have to issue longer term debt to pay  that out over time. And again, that's usually   a one maybe a two-time decision that you have, but  it doesn't

125make the problem go away. It just makes   sure that you can get from one year to the next.  And it actually makes future years harder because   then you just take that deficit and you spread it  out over 5, 10, 15, 20 years and then your debt   service line goes up. Um so this is just um a view  of the budget. You know, if you're starting from a   shortfall, that shortfall is going to persist  unless you make other changes. Um and again,   you have time, so you have that fund balance that  you can rely on for a little while. But really   what this is going to take is it's going to take  um a structured plan to address this over time and   you do have time to make those decisions. So again  going back to what

126is a budget? A budget is easy   math. Do the revenues equal the expenditures.  Does one equal the other? The path to get to   balance is very hard because it involves decisions  about priorities, needs, investments. You have an   infinite list of wants and needs and you needs  and you only have a limited list of resources   that you can do to support that. And it's going  to take time to figure out what are those needs,   what can we do with, what can we do without, what  can we do in this year, what can we do in that   year. And you're going to need that time to figure  out how you can address this. So again, why does   that number persist? Because those revenues are  growing at roughly 3% each year and the operating   expenses are growing a

127little bit faster than  that, 3.2%. So that's why that shortfall grows   from that 5 million in the budget to about six by  the time we get five years out. So again, if those   revenues do not grow faster, then that's going  to persist or grow. So your revenues would really   have to grow somewhere in the range of four,  five, 6% in order to close that gap over time. So what are the key takeaways that we have  here? Um, in the trends in enrollment,   we're seeing declining enrollment. So it hasn't  shown up in um a significant change, but that   that number is bending and you're seeing some of  that downward pressure in enrollment over time.   That doesn't make your job any easier because you  can't make decisions on that on a year-to-year   basis and, you know, solve

128your budget by  saying, you know, we're not going to fill X, Y,   or Z position because you don't know where they're  spread out. It could be among different grade   levels. It could be among different buildings.  And, you know, just because you see enrollment   go down by 100 students or 1% or 2% doesn't mean  that you can cut your budget by 1% or 2%. You   might be able to tweak things here or there unless  the change is drastic. So we can see that trend   going down and really that's just a planning thing  for going forward is you know we want to make sure   that you know is this number changing is this a  temporary blip or is this the new normal? Is this   the 6,500 the new normal or is the 6,400? Um we  have pressures

129um from the way that the statutes   are written for that limit your ability to raise  revenues over time. So again act one will limit   the the tax increase that you can make without  going to a referendum. So that's really your   um that's that really controls the growth in  resources over time. Your decision on an annual   basis whether or not to raise the real estate tax  to a p to a specific level. And then finally there   are other costs that are out there that we don't  show here. Eventually your buildings are going to   need new renovations, new construction. Um new  priorities are going to come up and we don't   have those shown here. We have a couple of plan  transfers that go out in future years. But for any   future needs to fund your capital plan,

130there  would be additional resources that need to be   found on top of this. And finally, looking ahead,  um, like Tony alluded to at the beginning of this,   this is just the first part of our presentation.  This is our initial analysis with the baseline.   So, what happens if we don't make any changes?  We're going to come back later in the year looking   at what those trends are looking at like for some  other school districts. What are their spending   patterns? Do they seeing similar pressures  in their budget as you? and kind of how do   you compare to them in terms of those staffing and  spending levels because those might be some levers   that you could pull um in your budget? Um you  know, if you could align your um transportation   program to look like a nearby district,

131would that  lead to savings or not? Maybe you are in a good   place and maybe you do run that more efficiently.  So that's one thing that you would want to   acknowledge and focus on other areas. Um the  other is coming up with some of those strategies   to achieve that balance over time. So some of them  we just have listed here based on our experience   elsewhere. So one of the funding sources that's  available to school district is Medicaid access   funding. So one of the areas that um we strongly  encourage a lot of the places that we work with to   look into is are you maximizing that resource?  Are you um are you claiming as much as you can   from that uh to support some of those those costs  of providing special education services? The other   is

132transportation subsidy. So again this is  a formulabased factor from the commonwealth.   are you running your routes as efficiently as you  can? It's based on essentially the the number of   students. So the more students you have in the  bus, the more money that you'll get from the   Commonwealth. So there are ways that you can  structure your transportation system to make   sure that you maximize that reimbursement  from the Commonwealth. Um and then again,   um looking at taking an external review of  some of your departments, whether that's,   you know, a special education audit, whether  that's a transportation audit, um there are   organizations out there that can help you provide  a um an independent view on how those programs are   um services are structured. And with that, that  brings us to the end of our presentation. Here we   just

133have a more detailed view of some of those  uh assumptions that are driving the projections. Thanks, Ian. Um, while others are gathering  their questions, I I I wonder if you could   uh explain, you know, for the public, for our  benefit, the act one index and uh, you know,   how is it calculated and why is going below that  what does that mean? That's a great question   and if I'm remembering correctly, it's based on  economic measures that the Commonwealth collects   for growth in wages, growth in costs over time.  And it's counterintuitive because in years that   are more tough, you know, inflation rising, um,  your index will go up, but then you're less likely   to take advantage of that higher number in that  year because taxpayers are going to feel the pinch   of rising gas prices, rising food

134prices. So, even  though you have that option to go to 4%, I'm not   saying that it's easy to get there. Um, and again,  it's based on a single year look. Some states will   let you bank an increase. And, you know, if you  don't go to 4% one year, you can take some of that   increase and use it in future years. Pennsylvania  does not allow that. So, if you don't go to 4%,   they say good luck. You can try next year and  your new rate is 3%. If you don't take that,   the next year is 2 and a.5%. Um, so again, in a  situation where the real estate tax rate is really   your only driver of revenue, then if you don't  raise that rate, then your growth in revenue can   kind of flatline over time. Um,

135and again, it's  based on the assessment. So, if you're not seeing   significant development in the township, you know,  you're not seeing new town houses get put up,   new warehouses, then that rate is really only  going to get driven by the annual real estate   tax rate that you set as a school board. And  if I could follow up in in your analysis,   there's a period early where essentially the  district went to the act one index and then there   was a middle portion uh yeah where it dropped  below the act one index. Was there anything   in your analysis that suggested why what was the  inflection point there that or do you think it was   just the economic pressure? If I had to guess it  probably was the economic pressure at that time. you could go back and

136watch the meetings where  we talked about it. There were a lot of them all   recorded. And it kind of follows on with that that  that's also a period where the district had been   posting surpluses year over year, right? we had  um budgeted with 3% or you know on average kind of   uh increases and still were able to generate  surpluses. So I'm curious what fundamentally   has changed if you know like our millage rate in  the last couple years is above where historically   was when we were generating surpluses. So is  it the cost drivers? Is it something else? And   um appreciate this presentation to like break it  down and show the component parts, but that slide   um the one with the audited financial results that  show strong surpluses from, you know, school year   19, 20, 21. curious

137what your sense of how we went  to much tighter bottom lines. Yeah, those are all   great questions and part of it I think shows up  in this chart here. So, one of them is just the   wage growth over time. So, as new contracts are  set, you know, they're also based on a lag. So,   if you sign a teachers contract, it's usually  for three to five years. So as you come up for   the next round of bargaining, if the teachers were  sitting there with an existing contract through   those years with, you know, four, five, six, 7%  inflation, they're going to come back and say,   well, you know, we got 2%, you know, we want this  other number. So the the way that the contracts   fall can sometimes be a little bit lagged from,  you know, whatever

138revenue growth is going on or   the other pressures that you might be seeing. So  half of it's based on the the growth in salaries.   The next largest one is for the benefits. And  between the two of them, that's about twothirds   of the growth in and the pressure right there. So  what that tells me is that for those years where   you had the surpluses, your salaries and benefits  were probably growing slower than average for the   growth in the revenues over time. And then  you hit reset and then those costs start to   grow faster. So as the real estate tax rate  is growing by two and a half, 2.7%, 3%, your   salaries might be growing by three and a half,  4% and then that compounds over time. So the the   number is now a little bit bigger.

139Now it grows  a little bit faster and now that gap shrinks. And it looks like too in the two larger years  where there was in excess of about four million,   it looks like maybe some of the revenue items were  not budgeted as high. And so when they actually   came in, you had you did have a surplus. So I  think it's more now of we're we're budgeting a   lot tighter and a lot closer to what it should be.  And so I think that's where it is. There's not a   lot of maybe there was extra built into the budget  on an expenditure side in the past and now we're   budgeting you trying to budget to exactly what  our needs are. Right. Kind of you know that that   excess is has gone has faded. Yeah. because I I 

140remember the discussions when the district was in   um generating surpluses and I think you both kind  of spoke about it that um it did feel important to   spend down some of that fund balance to deploy it  for our capital projects and those coincided and   you know we um we are stewards of the community's  tax dollars resources and putting those into   use like we it wasn't like we just wanted to  stockpile, you know, in into our fund balance and   and hold on to it. We were deploying it for those  strategic investments and upgrades across several   of our facilities. Um and it was at the time when  the enrollment trends were going up, so we needed   space for those students in the schools. Uh so  yeah, just um different things, but I think this   long range planning

141is helpful to show you know  the situation. there's been a inflection point,   a pivot point, and um kind of a a new set  of of practices needs to be considered. And   um I know in October we'll be talking more about  what some of those opportunities and challenge and   challenges are. But I I think it's important to  have this view of where we've been and where we   are and you know what um what is in the district's  control to uh right size because the trend with um   negative fund balance um the baseline projection  slide just curious like is that even permitted   Like are are we allowed to get into that situation  or do we have to work hard? Like is is it prudent   and best practice not to have a negative fund  balance or is it

142just like not not allowed? Um   it's a gray area. The Commonwealth really only  requires you to produce a balanced budget every   year. The number just has to get to zero. They  don't tell you how to get there. They don't tell   you how to budget. They don't tell you if your  budget is accurate. They don't tell you if they   like it or they don't like it. Just as long as  that number reaches zero, they accept it and   move on. How do you get there? Your revenues have  to equal the expenditures. And here, even though   you have the draw down and fund balance, the fund  balance gets calculated into that. So, as long as   revenues plus fund balance are greater than the  expenditures, that's all that they care about.   Um, it's a gray area because you can

143have an  accumulated negative fund balance and your life   is just very difficult year-over-year. Um, you're  issuing a lot of short and long-term debt to make   it through the year. You're making decisions like  not paying pasers, your pension payment on time,   which then acrru interest, and you're taking bills  from one year and paying them in another year.   And on an accounting basis, you have a negative  number. But on a living your daily life basis,   it's very hard to make that work for a  long time because you need cash. Yes,   you need cash. Um, and does anyone step in  and say no? Eventually, the state does come   in and say no at some point. Um, in our other  lives, we are technical assistance providers,   the state, and we work with those districts who  are in oversight from

144the state, the Eeries,   the Scrantons, the Yorks. And you know, eventually  they do run into that challenge where, you know,   the the number is just so large and they've got to  put together a plan of action. Um, but again, the   state's not telling them what that plan of action  is. The school board must put that together. How   do we get out of this problem at some point?  Chester up local. Yep. So, uh, you say that,   you know, yes, we do have some time to kind of get  this back into or order, but not a lot. I mean,   we're going to approve the 2627 budget tonight.  Um, which according to the uh I'm sorry,   next I'm sorry, not going to approve it. This is  not the action portion of this month. Excuse me,   this month. Excuse

145me. This month, I misspoke.  Yeah, we're approving it this this month. Um,   and looks like we're going to have a pretty  significant shortfall there um for for for   this year. You'll be back here in October, you  say, right? Mhm. Um, will we have at that point,   you said we'll have some comparisons. Will we have  some potential action items then as well presented   to us where we can actually and and actually and  Tony, I'll ask you this. C can we can we adjust   through through the year if there are things we  can do in the near term just so we can I mean   thinking more about extending this as long as we  can. We'll have to make some structural changes   potentially over time, but I mean is there a way  to kind of increase the time

146we have on the clock?   Will we have anything that that could be acted  upon very very soon? Um the answer is yes. So   just because you do agree to something in your  budget doesn't mean that you have to spend it.   You know it takes time to find the program, hire  the person, get the program up and running. So,   you know, just because you are budgeting for  $164.9 million doesn't mean that you will spend   exactly that amount by the time the year rolls  over. People will retire, people will leave,   your healthcare might be 1% instead of 2%. All  these things will happen throughout the year.   And the most important thing is, you know,  Tony's there watching the cash account. So,   as things come in, you know, he'll make the  decision on whether or not you can

147make this   investment or not throughout the year. And my  other question, I guess, and Tony is probably   for for you. I I know we're putting in for a lot  of grants, but they are not for operating funds.   Those are for capital funds. So, those are not  included in any of I guess I'll ask you this. The   uh fund transfers we're putting in here that's  going those are going to capital programs. Is there any would any of that be covered  potentially if some of these grants were   awarded? Again, I'm I'm I'm trying to think about  So, there are some facility improvement grants   that we applied for that would cover items that  we would normally cover with capital projects. So,   yeah. So, there's those are included in the  fund in the in the fund transfers here. So,  

148not in these fund transfers, but would be like  future transfers project, right? Which eventually   go down to zero though. So, that's that's what I'm  looking at as well. So, I'm I'm I'm I'm looking at   um yeah, French for the future going to be where  Ricky Jr. is not going to let us and just for for   context and like Ian and Tony said, um they've  been working on this for a part one. Uh but the   entire purpose of this is to be aware of what  we want to avoid, right? so that we can plan now   uh to make sure that we are able to provide  those resources, those programming, those   staffing needs to our students, to our community  members, you know, based on the priorities,   the goals within our strategic plan, everything  we want that our

149community values. So, um yes,   it it is um very important. It is slightly urgent,  but there is time and we're presenting this now to   be able to be aware of those uh potential pitfalls  so that we can really strategically step out how   we get there. um thinking forward um knowing what  we have done is great and it informs maybe what   not to repeat potentially um but also more so  uh how we plan ahead for 2031 2032 although it   seems a far way off the 289 I think where we hit  like double negatives is a budget cycle away Tony   like next year we plan for the 27 28 budget and  then we're planning 28 29 So that's the purpose   is to really be forward thinking and making sure  we have a strategic plan to address this

150so that   we don't have to take drastic measures. Um, one  of the biggest things that stands out to me with   this presentation and not so much more sort of  question for Dr. the administration is looking   at our enrollment um and what does that mean for  the future of our district and and what sorts of   I can think of all sorts of questions to go with  you know why might our enrollment be declining   um everything from if you look at kindergarten I  know we've talked about school start times I know   we've talked about other reasons I also think  about how the economy changes and how that also   changes what each person's household looks like  how many incomes are required um does that mean   there's no longer a parent at home available  or someone for that half

151day kindergarten   um student? And so I I would really I look  forward to um our next discussion as it relates   to enrollment and programming because I think  it's a huge part of the future of our district,   especially when we're talking about resources and  finances needed and programming, school buses. I   mean, all of those things to me is is tied to  the students that we have or the ones that we   in our district. I agree. The kindergarten um  decline from 76% to 50% feels like something   the community is saying to us like we are not  meeting a kindergarten need. And while this   conversation has been the the end the takeaway was  around the stresses on the budget, I do think any   of the budgeting conversations is an opportunity  as Dr. Hayes was saying to look at

152our programs,   our values, our strategies and how we fund that,  how we as a community support the quality and the   type of education we want Hford School District to  maintain. And it might go hand inand as we look at   how do we solve um you know the buzz the budget  stresses, how do we want to deploy our dollars,   what do we want to invest in, what are we asking  for our community to be able to do. So I look   forward to uh those conversations and again that  just the way to to look at our our operations, our   programs with these um data points from the budget  uh I think is is useful as we do that longer term   planning and strategizing and and think about of  what opportunities we have to maintain the quality   of

153education here. And um it's I don't want to  speak for Ian but they pointed out it's doable.   It was doable in the past. If you go back to the  slide about our previous audit of financials,   I mean there was a very strong strategy of that  um you know fiscal fiscal approach um and kind of   knowing where we're going to replicate that  strategy so that does align. um we can take   opportunities for certain programs um or certain  resources or certain allocations uh to make sure   that we're using that strategy to address the  needs while also covering any uh or avoiding   any future uh you know fiscal issues. So it can be  combined in one as long as we're intentional with   how we do it and again that's that's why we're  presenting now projecting all the way

154out to   203132 so that we're looking at that full scope. I  just want to highlight what Dr. King said because   I do think it's important. I think a little bit  this is like doom and gloom. Um but uh but I   think it's important to look pro uh you know at  all of our programs and and what we are offering   to our students and not um be afraid to also look  at other things like school start times or full   day K which is you know a community need because  there are I think creative ways to make that work   within a potentially smaller budget right and so  looking at it like that it's really easy to you   know the easy way out and a lot of companies do  this and we're not a company thank god um

155but you   know just like slash people that it's super easy.  How do you get rid of 10% of a budget? You slash   10% of your people, right? Nobody wants to do that  because we have a lot of creative people here that   we and I would love to see from you creative ways  to work in the programs that we want to do and   keep aligned with our values and still maintain  a balanced budget. So, I do appreciate this and   I also appreciate the comments from the board  that um you know are continuing to think in line   with our strategic goals. to throw another wrinkle  into this or anything, but but pre uh all all day   uh kindergartens have mentioned a few times and  Dr. uh Shelton probably know more about this,   but the state I believe

156is considering forcing our  hand on on that one. Um so that's something that   we look in the future. I mean I you know we all  want to provide full day kindergart you know there   there are financial and space issues that come  along with that. We may not have a choice though   in the future. We may be told you're doing it. So,  um that should we look in the future things things   like that that are beyond our control which would  be I'm sure an unfunded mandate I imagine there   because because no mandates are funded. Um yeah  the conclude right yeah I was gonna at the next   meeting I'll talk about the you know legislative  update but um you know the unfunded mandates from   the state are you know they every year keeping  on coming that's yeah

157that's that's it could be   can be be be budgeted for the cost driver yeah so  if there's a way of seeing what that cost driver   potentially would be so that if it does happen we  at least have a way to manage it. Mhm. Be helpful   come come October. We have um a question around  um the next presentation with our looking at   the peers. Um as we talked about our programs and  seeing that decline with kindergarten, will some   of that um look at potential real estate trends?  You know, are people leaving our our township and   are is there increase in our surrounding townships  that have full day kindergarten? Um, is that stay,   you know, are they are those that have full day  kindergarten, is their real estate stayings the   same, you know, or is it really

158that we're just  seeing kindergarten people going out for private   because there's that full day and then they're  coming back to us. So, will some of that be   able to answer those questions? Yeah, we will  to some extent. The the private the private   versus public is very hard to to get a good  number on because it's all census based. So,   it's based on a survey. So depending on the  response rate and who's responding in any year,   that's why the numbers jump around so much. It's  not like PTE has got a database of all the kids in   the Commonwealth and they keep track of everyone  going down to where they're at. They only track   students who are enrolled in public schools.  So public schools or charter schools. So anyone   outside of that universe, it's just they don't

159we  don't have a number on that. So we're really only   using imperfect tools to guess at that. But to get  to your question, yes, we can look at the trends,   but we might not be able to answer every single  driver of that trend. I think also to Dr. King's   point, it's important to um kind of interpret what  the numbers are telling us too and listen to kind   of some of the community input as well. And even  if we don't know specific numbers or causations   for it, we can still explore where that may be  and learn some information through that too. Other questions, comments? Okay. So, we'll  look forward to that next presentation here.   Thank you. Thank you. Um, next on the financial  agenda is the 2026 27 budget. Again, this for   information discussion only and

160but it will be  on the next uh the next meeting for action. So,   this is basically what the resolution will  look like when it comes to the board for the   uh action meeting. It's the budget adoption and  tax levy resolution. Um, so that's this is just   what that looks like with the current budget draft  that the board does have available to the board.   Great. Any questions on those documents comments?  Okay. U the fourth item is RFP for labor relations   council. Um not sure if I should. Yeah. So um  there there is an in the administrative section   I believe is an attachment for reference for board  members um regarding the labor relations council   uh formerly Fox Roth's child education team.  they uh merged over to McNiss uh firm. Um and   uh just wanted to open up

161for discussion uh  or consideration amongst board members about   um going towards a RFP for labor relations  council rather than just automatically renewing   um or engaging in an agreement to  see what options may be available   um for that. Uh the mcnes would obviously  still could be a consideration. and it doesn't   necessarily change uh anything, but it broadens  the opportunity for us to explore um you know   what council options we have. I appreciate  the opportunity to be able to explore. So yeah, I totally agree and I think with this change  in council, it is going to be a new firm. It'll be   an opportunity um even if the ultimate choice  is MCNE and we'll see um you know get an RFP   out there and see what other options are there.  But even if the choice does end

162up being mise,   I think we'll learn through the process more  about the firm, more about the people. Um,   and and it'll just give the board, I think, um,  more of an opportunity to understand what we're   contracting with rather than, you know, it is a  lot of the same group going to a different firm,   but it is a different firm. Maybe they  do things differently. And I think the   board should take the opportunity to  to understand what it's going into. Okay. Sounds like there's a consensus.  Um so we'll move on to the next uh item   uh the Apple computer lease proposal u  document which was attached and it looked   pretty straightforward but I don't know if  there's any additional context to be provided. Um yeah, so it's just our I think we talked at the  last

163meeting and the meeting before that about our   Chromebook refresh. So this is just our lease for  our staff computers. Um so it's one elementary   school, a third of the middle school and a  quarter of the high school is generally how we   do our refresh cycle. So um we've been financing  through Apple for the past few years. Um so we're   just continuing that practice. Okay. Any questions  or comments on this agreement? Hearing none. Thank   you, Ron. U next we move on to donations. Uh after  your topic then long-term forecasts. So we have a   good amount of donations received. Um some of  them we get on a regular basis. The American   Italian Society um the Philadelphia Foundation  which donates that goes towards some high school   scholarships and then Lynwood Elementary PTO  are purchasing some playground canopies for  

164the playground. Great. So we want to thank  those groups and I know Mr. Dina is not here,   but uh the first one is Stephen Junger's uh  scholarship and he was a coach uh for 45 years I   believe here at the district. Uh he passed away in  2003. Okay. Next is establishment of scholarship   funds and those look like forms uh for each uh  organization. Yes. again some generous donations   from um local businesses and and community  members to go towards the graduating seniors.   It's nice to see. Great. Yep. We thank those those  organizations as well. And then finally on the   financial sustained activity fund report which  look robust as usual. Yeah. So this just shows   our our normal set of activity groups that are  out there. a lot of activity going on especially   with the graduating classes

165with proms and um  field trips and different activities. So and   the robotics club we the national championships  in there as well bit of above. Yeah. Thank you.   Any questions or comments on any of the donations  or student activity? Just a seconding how lovely   it is that these donations are coming in.  Yeah. Yes. Takes a you know community to help   And so, Mr. T, if this inspires other generous  donors, um, should they contact the business   office or how does one begin a process of  considering and contributing? They can reach   out to me. I have an intent to donate form. So, I  would just forward that on to the group or donor   that's interested and we can get that process  started for them. Much appreciated. And sorry,   just for awareness, not fully finalized yet, but  I know

166there's some work to kind of ease some of   that donation process. um with uh Rob and Anna and  Tony have been working on to kind of make donating   or any contributions simplified in terms of the  process. So we'll give updates with that but since   there are so many donations that's something we've  recognized uh could be beneficial. Yep. So these   will be up for action at the next meeting. Right.  Okay. So that wraps up the financial uh agenda and   I'll turn it over to Dr. Thank you Dr. Sh. Policy  and Now, Miss Nass before 9:30. This is great. Um, uh, all right. Yeah, we have, uh, several  things for our policy tonight, too. Um,   the first is going to be the, um, the the 200  section consolidation, which we've talked about,   um, for several meetings. Getting 

167a first look at this outline now.   um making sure the board is aligned with the  general outline, any comments. Um obviously if   you're looking at the outline, it doesn't have  specific language in there or anything because   you want to make sure everything's in the right  place first. Um so just taking this one first. Um   I'll start with student. Actually, you know  what? I'll let Justin introduce it a little   bit just to make sure everyone orients themselves  to what we're looking at here with this outline.   um because I'm hoping that my assumption was right  where this you know when you're looking at student   rights that's going to be one policy and all the  numbers underneath are going to be sections of   that policy but go ahead and and explain that  document and I actually don't have

168the most   updated version in front of me but I can give you  the overview so I initially I think when we talked   about this we talked about having four subsections  um and after some gathering some feedback from the   board um we and having some discussions with  Miss AXA, Dr. Hayes, and Dr. Batistelli. Um,   we kind of landed on actually going into  three sections instead of the four. Um,   and so we've reorganized it um to align in  that way. Um, combining um really uh some   some subsections or smaller subsections that  were living um in other places and broadening   really what was a part of student rights. and  then also expanding uh prohibited behaviors.   Um that was largely based on some of the feedback  from the board. Um what I can also tell you just   generally speaking

169and probably forward looking  um we have run through um with the administrative   team the central administrative team those first  two sections um and had a couple workshop sessions   and and working through them um so I think  those are largely um complete at this point.   Um, so I I don't know if there are any specific  questions as to how um we arrived at, you know,   what was included in what subheading, but it did  make more sense after reviewing the feedback from   the board to move to three subsections instead of  four. Um, and we and again, as far as organization   and how we present it and what um, you know,  highlighted words will you would like to see,   we can always adjust. Um, but it probably makes  more sense for you to see the the actual drafts.  

170um before we start doing that and we plan to bring  the plan is to bring the first two student rights   and responsibilities uh the large draft sections  uh during the June workshop. Um but just getting   the feedback on again uh that full categorization,  the visual of the outline and what that looks like   in that kind of essentially what are two large  policies with sub policies under them. Um so that   when we do bring them forth, we can uh discuss  the content further. I'm glad I was reading it   right. Thank you for for the explanation. Um I  think that or my opinion and happy to hear from   others on the board. Um I mean I think that these  groupings make good sense. I would say my comments   um for this uh just a couple things like

171with  dress and grooming um I I think that that actually   really aligns well with student expression and and  so maybe those can be those two sections can be   intertwined. But I think a really important piece  and obviously the crown act does this but I think   even going beyond the crown act making sure that  um we do have a non-discriminatory language in   our dress and grooming um you know I think a lot  of us grew up in the era of getting policed uh   with our our dress and ex and grooming and so  making sure that we have um that the any sort   of code of conduct dress and grooming that goes  within the code of conduct cannot be discriminated   based on gender or race. Um, I think that's  a really important piece of that and I

172didn't   quite see that here, although obviously, like I  said, it is a little bit included um, with the   Crown Act. Um, did anyone else have comments  specifically on the just the student rights   part? I just want to make sure we get all the  comments together. I just I I really appreciate   our coming up with a plan to standardize all of  this. Like I feel like having the complaint forms   and the abilities to be able to move through  the process all standardized is really really   important and I've wanted it for a while. So I  really appreciate that we're here at this point.   Yeah. Thank you for your prior comments on that  being like this policy I feel like we went over   this and it was a different place and yeah it's  uh it's a long time

173coming for sure. Thank you. Um, and so I think my next comment was on um  student responsibilities and um I think for   that one and and we might have mentioned this  before like with bicycles, motor vehicles,   you know, I'm sure it'll include the  ebikes and and whatever else in there,   but I think especially as these um more and more  transportation vehicles become in use and popular,   making sure that there are good disclaimers in  there about um you know that the district's not   respons responsible for a broken, lost, uh,  stolen property. Um, just knowing, you know,   how much some of these things can can cost. But  otherwise, um, I thought that these sections all   looked really good and I'm looking forward to  going over the specific language of them. Um,   did anyone on the board have

174any comments  on any other parts of the outline? Um, just the number for the personal electronic  devices. Is this then going to be the place that   we house any policies that might be someday around  cell phones or that usage? Is that kind of what   the goal of that section is? That's a that's a  great question. Um so the answer is it depends.   Um, we we certainly talked about that um at  length and whether or not um I think I think   kind of seeing where the legislature is going, the  general assembly is going, but we don't know how   soon they're going there. Um having a place for  it to potentially live um if and when or if and   when the board decides to do it before then.  Um, but but that's kind of the point of

175this   though that because it's it's a it's a larger  general term of personal electronic devices,   but like is that that kind of the point of this is  for to kind of house that cell phone use question?   Um, not I I think more I mean it more to to  Miss Nagrass's point as far as disclaimer on   um whose responsibility it is to liability  but also access to district networks,   things of that nature. Um, so it could be  expanded into um regulating when, where,   how as far as use, but that wasn't necessarily  a goal at this point. It's also a question of   whether we uh we do want that in a policy format  or in an AR format, in a code of conduct format,   right? And so um you know, that's definitely a  discussion that we can

176have once we have maybe   the broader language. we can have a discussion  on do we want a specific policy on this and   have that be at a policy level or have it be you  know at more of an AR or code of conduct level that also um in having that conversation teases  out the responsibility of electronic devices also   considering technology right apps things like  that um and then the response in terms of the   misuse of them right is that the responsibility  Is it a prohibitive behavior to even have it as   a responsibility? So teasing that out when  we have the further language can be that   discussion but for now I the conversation  I remember recall having was um it is the   responsibility of the student um to maintain that  personal electronic device properly and then

177there   is a response in terms of whether or not they  do so inappropriately was the initial thought. Um, I guess just a question around student  responsibility that also makes me think of   um kind of academic responsibilities  and things like that and I've heard   um code of conduct referenced. Can somebody  just clarify kind of how the code of conduct   is or isn't part of our policy and um how this  grouping is uh aligned with other parts of   policy around like no plagiarism and stuff like  that um that are more of an academic nature. Do I defer to you? So I may ask you to clarify  a little further with the question, but if I'm   hearing correctly, um, how is are you asking how  certain responsibility of students that may result   in some sort of response not

178fall under student  responsibilities but under under another area? I   guess. So like like when I think of like what is  a student responsible for? Um yes, you your head   goes to more than just like appropriate use of  boat of bicycles or student fundraising, right?   Like so where are those um in our policy and why  are they not under a student responsibility? So   there's some there if you recall uh not all of  the 200s are getting consolidated, right? There   are going to be some standalone policies  that do not fall under this consolidation.   Um there are others that could be captured uh  because of either their grade or grade band   or you know school specific nature uh in um a  school handbook, right? Or something like that   versus a district-wide practice. The academic  responsibility for a second

179grader is going   to be different than that of a seventh  grader or a 11th grader given, you know,   access to resources, cognitive development, all  that. Um so that's where standalone but also   uh some school uh kind of autonomy and discretion  but also capturing some of those um in uh that   are misused in what is now 218 which would still  be standalone. And I think if at the bottom of   this you look there's a couple standalones that  are related to this would also capture some of   um in association with the prohibited use some of  the kind of what we'll refer to as minor kind of   infraction or prohibited use things that are not  major you know reportable referable things. Um,   so some of those may be captured there and  we'll be able to provide more detail

180when we   look at that closely, but that would be the  reason why certain things aren't captured   under responsibilities. Right. Do we have a  policy that says there needs to be a student   code of conduct? We have a student discipline  policy 218 which uh refers to the school polic. And that's something we're exploring right now  is how do we kind of consistently apply that   appropriately apply that and make sure that um we  are allowing um each school teacher administrator   uh to utilize their skills to support students to  engage in um reflective and you know um positive   and restorative um and responsive practices while  also having kind of an expectation of what is   and is not allowable and potential um we'll say  responses uh that could apply to that, right? So,   right now it's kind of vague,

181I guess, in that  the district policy references school, right?   Procedure. So, maybe just a suggestion because I  think in 218 in 218 references the code of conduct   a lot. Okay. But yeah, I think in um in one of the  ways that we were it is basically, right? Yeah.   Envisioning this was around some more positive,  right? So to like have everything focused on a   student discipline um if is there an opportunity  to like look at student responsibilities in a   more positive way and and just make reference to  and that's where we would include the different   um restorative practice approaches and things  that schools do do in a positive manner. Um   which realistically and honestly is 90 99% of the  time, right? Um so we want to leverage that and   continue to promote that. Um, as well

182while we're  on student responsibilities, um, and I appreciate   Mman's point, I think I would also add to that  that I am just really struggling with student   responsibilities in general. Um, and what I mean  by that is we always often talk about in one of   my comments is if I, you know, as a parent in the  community, I want to be able to know look here and   this is where where the youth information would  be. And so, um, I would never look under student   responsibilities for any of these things. And I'm  not sure if we are if if we are um as we're making   these changes, we also have to think about the  practical use. And so as a as a parent or student,   if I wanted to know what the policy is as  it relates

183to fundraising or bicycles, etc.,   etc., I think we need to kind of go back  into what exactly is meant by the student   responsibilities and if these four things  or items are going to fall under that and and the thinking being if so child rides  their bicycle to school, it is that child's   responsibility for the care of that bicycle. even  on our property. True. But again, I I get it when   you when you explain it this way. But if I am  looking for a policy Y um if I'm looking for for   um student fundraising, personal electronic  devices, I just I think there's an opportunity   to either provide more explanation to the  header and or have a different header there. Yeah, I think a header change might I was trying   to think as you were speaking but 

184maybe student accountabilities or I don't know if that captures it. Think about  it. Yeah. Yeah, I think we can think about it.   Um it is mostly about property. So I think  that's except for fundraising. Um but yeah,   I mean I think we could do something like student  responsibilities for property and fundraising,   something like that. Um and this is, you  know, the one of the three when talking   when when going through some of the language and  seeing some of the detail within uh the policies,   it could give some clarity as to what that  is, which could then help decide what that   heading may be, whether it's accurate as is or  needs to be adjusted. Um so there may be more I   fully understand and see how some of this may be  a little vague not having

185the detail of that. Um,   but we also want to provide the administrative  the full administrative team time to review   over those two before we bring it forth to  you because they'll apply to the ARS too. Great with that. All right. So, um the next uh item for policy  is 707 uh school facilities use with the 707 AR. Yep. Um I think we just have the AR here.  You do. So, couple things real quick just   to note. Um couple issues with with board  docs throughout the week and everything,   but there was an adjustment. Um so members should  refer to the attachment for the draft AR. Um board   the board docs document is not currently updated.  So if you refer to the attachment you'll be able   to see the edits that were made as the AR in

186board  docs is not the most recently updated. Um as we   and Tara and JR explain, you know, went through  a little bit of this and they'll come back at   uh some point probably in June to talk through  that new school reservation management system.   um considering the most appropriate intentional  way to inform organizations of our facilities. We   want to review through those updates, you know,  for the board's awareness. Um administrators   have reviewed through them thoroughly as  well. Uh and to member Snagess's point,   we're not updating the policy. We're we're  rather informing you of the updates made to   the AR in association with the policy. Um  and the primary ones of those and open up   for discussion are made around classification  rates process and uh some unique considerations and since this since this one is uh an

187AR um which  is does not require board uh deliberation. and it   just requires board um notification and input if  any. Um and it is very long. Um and I wonder you   like highlights. Yeah, I think highlights would be  good and then maybe the board can kind of digest   this and come back if there is anything else that  if there are any questions or anything like that.   Yeah, and the highlights will be helpful um also  for 9:13 what was 7:14. So um if you are if you   are looking at or eventually when you do look at  uh the TW and also the document will be paired   down significantly when finalized and updated all  the red will be right the the stricken through red   will be out and everything. Uh but when looking  at it just for

188orientation and consideration   page 15 and 17 uh there was a distinction made  between notfor-profit and nonprofit language   to clarify that there was um we just wanted to  be clear on what that is uh and for the board's   awareness when groups or organizations do look  to use our facilities uh we simply go by their   FEIN to determine their status um and there is a  distinction between notfor-profit and nonprofit   so there was clarification made um which applies  primarily to the classifications. Um on page seven   I believe uh there is also and this will relate  to 714913 as well. Uh there was uh some updated   language for superintendent discretion. So there  may be situations uh an example of this uh is   actually uh summer stage uh where an organization  may be looking to use our facilities. They're a  

189benefit to the community. um their benefit to  our students. So, it it's beneficial to use   um but there's a lot of considerations to be made.  We want to honor uh those considerations and leave   a little bit of discretion to engage in those  conversations still in line with our guidelines   and policies, but also leaving for a little bit  of room to make sure that we're acting in the best   interest of both the group, the organization,  and our community. And then on page 16,   uh there is an added statement uh referring to uh  organizations or groups utilizing our facilities   with regard to sponsorship or third party vendor  um vendor association. Uh so I believe right now   it's marked red. It will be marked blue and move  to page 23 within the um revised version. I'm   sorry, from

19023 216. Um, but that statement with  thirdparty vendor association would be again um   and we could talk about this with 913 or 714 in a  minute. Uh, but something like summer stage where   we are uh having them utilize our facilities,  they're a benefit, but we also know that there   may be an associated vendor or group with them um  that is on the back of their flyer or something.   Um so we are just uh putting in um a statement  and there will be a statement on the application   to check is there an association of third part  of a vendor or is there a third party uh with   your usage um so that we know that. So those are  really the three primary highlights for that AR. just one suggestion. I know we're not getting into  it

191too much, but um at the bottom of I think it's   page four, it talks about um when applications,  it's under I guess non-athletic events may be   um uh rejected. And I would just suggest  looking at it says um applications received   less than 14 days, but then it says as well as  applications that may violate any local, state or   federal law or regulation or board policy may be  rejected. And I think if if there's a sense that   um the application violates laws, we could be more  direct on um having a avenue to reject that. So   that would be um changing May to would and will  maybe. Right. There's I mean I understand like   maybe we're able to accommodate an application  that comes in within two weeks. Like that feels   like a very different consideration than one 

192that could violate laws. And on top of that,   if we know it's going to violate a law, it may  not be rejected. It would be rejected. Yeah. Okay. Good. Gotcha. And like I said, this is an AR, so this  is a notification to the board. Um,   but if anyone else has any questions, it's  not that we can't um advise or ask questions   on it. Um, but it just doesn't require the uh  deliberation and readings that a policy does. All right. And so with the intensive preview  that we just had, we'll move on to 913   um relations with independent school related  and non-school organizations. So um Dr. Hayes,   do you want to introduce this one? Although you  kind of introduced it a little bit. Um so we   initially at the last workshop I believe it was

193we  talked about 714. Um and in lie of pursuing 714,   we felt it would be more beneficial to update 913  uh with some language that includes reference uh   to advertising. Um again, we have organizations  that use our facility, engage in our activities.   Um we want to be a benefit to the community. We  want to have, you know, within our strategic plan,   we're looking to uh expand upon opportunities for  students to engage with community, community, to   engage with us. Um, so we want to have that mutual  benefit, but we also are aware that there may be   times where that usage um has an association of an  advertisement or something like that. There's also   the consideration of short-term versus long-term  what's being handed out. So we felt it was more   appropriate um to kind of be housed

194in both  707 the AR and 7 and 913 in terms of what we do   um allow in term um with uh our our school related  or non-school organizations and I should clarify   this is also an AR so it's um it is 714 AR right  7 what I have in front of me is the 913 AR. That's   what 714 was the considered previous policy. Yeah.  Which would be then no longer considered, right?   And now into the AR. Okay. With that language.  Um and so this is the same that I just mentioned.   It doesn't go through the intense deliberation  um and review cycle that the policy does,   but is certainly still welcomed input and  revision to make sure that it is in line with   the district's policy itself. Um so I'll just open  it up if anyone

195does have any comments on this   um this specific AR, especially um given the  conversation that was had on the proposed 714   before and and the changes that were made to um  align with that. Here I have a very simple thing   at the very end. It says um age restrict website  at and it's missing and it doesn't exist that main   thing. So that'll be pulled off. I c I caught  that too right before coming down very bottom   of it. It's so hard to know when if it's a board  docs trick or not. That's the thing with these   where it's like sometimes it's like well the board  ducks can't have a URL like and so then you ask   the question like sorry for reference there is a  line uh regarding uh for opportunities um the the   answer

196is there are none currently um so that will  be removed okay so just remove that whole line yes   I'm going to repeat um my comment from last time  that I am uh struggling ling with the distinction   of advertising from some of the other components  in here. The policy says advertising sponsorship   agreement. Advertising is very specifically  defined in the AR as you know only something   that is a commercial marketing of a company  service or facility. And there's a whole bunch   of things that advertising is not just a logo, a  company name, a um address, you know, like things   like that. So then why the I don't understand why  the policy combines advertising and sponsorship   agreement which kind of loosens it to a whole uh  broader set of potential things. I I would suggest   um just a

197kind of a read through to understand  what what this policy is trying to do. Are we   trying to limit the policy or the AR? The policy  and well the policy references the definition from   the AR. So they kind of go together, but like are  we trying to limit the you know organizations that   may advertise the um format? Um I think there's  inconsistency between kind of printed materials or   posters. Um in other ways it it references like an  announcement um or something that could be verbal.   Um I I like I kind of struggle to understand what  is being um prescribed by this policy. So um I can   speak to that. Yeah, thank you. Sure. Um and I  for the rest of the board members edification,   I did walk in um with Miss Wedderman and said I 

198took another look at that and I think we need to   make some changes moving forward. Um so just for  for everyone's um personal edification what we did   here um was move some of the reg or not some  but the most significant regulatory language   um from what was previously presented as 714 in  the spirit of trying to um allow for regulation   in these scenarios. what we and uh the comments  that were made um were certainly you know they   certainly hit home um but after consulting with  Miss Saxa and Dr. Hayes um Dr. Vastelli the   thought was move all of the proposed regulatory  language over um so we're not confusing you by   bringing bits and pieces of it and you can see  it all together knowing that we're going to have   to do some work on it

199moving forward. Um, so  I think it's it's really just to kind of gauge   um the board's appetite for having this type of  language live in 913 moving forward um to address   these types of issues. So as far as um there being  some inconsistencies throughout um and confusion   um and you know as well as as the point Dr. King  made earlier about trying to simplify things and   just have them make sense. Um that that message is  heard loud and clear and I certainly realize that   there's some work um for us to do to go back to  the drawing board on this. Um but this is really I   think just to introduce the thought of having this  type of language live in 913 where previously it   really didn't. And just to add to it, there was  a

200because you had asked some of the purpose and   there was a comment last time at the last meeting  about is there current advertising going on? And   I don't know if there's current intentional  advertising going on, but we know that as   um groups or um organizations use or are in our  facilities. We just want to be clear giving uh   guidance about what is advertisement, what  is not, what is sponsorship, what is not,   what is allowable, what is not to provide that  consistent limitation. So um and guidance. So   in conversation with different administrators,  getting feedback from them, um making sure we're   not also um kind of creeping in on other policies  such as the booster policy or things like that,   right? We have multiple organizations. We do  not want to limit their engagement with us.   We actually

201we want them to engage with us.  We just want to give clear guidance knowing   um some of the things with engagements,  right? Something as simple as a car wash   um what that kind of advertising or sponsorship  may be. So, I'm um happy with it to move to 913,   but welcome rethink of what's all under this  umbrella and and how it gets specified in policy   and the AR. Yeah. And and I think too looking at  what goes in the policy and what goes into the AR,   right? And so I know that it was just kind of  dumped in in right now for a general look. Um but   certainly um as we've gone through we got as we've  gone through the policy audit the past four years   um you know our objective is to make the policies 

202more succinct, easier to understand um so that   people understand what the actual policy of the  board is and then having more of this especially   when you're looking at these really lengthy  guidelines um to have those be in the AR when   they really are just steps that the district is  taking. So, um, you know, would just ask you for   the next look, and I don't think this can go to a  first read. I think this needs to come back to a   committee. Um, and so, but for the next look to to  really try and see what you can do to consolidate   um, and make this more succinct and and put the  nitty-gritty of it into the AR and not diminishing   Miss Weedman's substantive comments um, either.  And if I could just add, if we could also

203include   some language as it relates to social media. Um  because I feel like no longer are we passing out   flyers and putting up posters. It's a quick link  or a tag and before you know it whether we are   not endorsing a advertisement sponsored business  if they've tagged the school district's page. We   are. And so um and that that is the quickest way  for us to be connected to an organization good,   bad or indifferent. So I want to make  sure we're having the proper parameters   um especially as we are having other You know,  we welcome community groups, etc. to be able to   use our builds and facilities, but we have to  be mindful of social media. Yep. Great point. So, we'll be seeing that  one uh in committee again. Um and the next one is 918

204um title one parent   guardian and family member  engagement. I think I see just a policy that's like kind of an incomplete  policy here, just an awkwardly chopped off one.   So, so what we ended up doing with this,  um, if you remember, this this came about,   um, after some feedback that Miss Carter received.  Um, and again, this is just for the sake of   getting it in front of you in order to advance.  Um, but I guess the there was kind of a an issue   with recognizing the language that we had in the  AR for how we're implementing our requirements for   title one. Um, so what we ended up doing was  putting the policy and the AR back together,   but then also including um some feedback from  Miss Carter um that she had actually shared with   monitoring

205as far as what the district is doing  in order to satisfy that requirement too to just   actually have it laid out um within the the pol  what will now be potentially just a single policy   itself. Um so that's that's the document  that's actually in front of you right now.   So, and the the new language, for whatever reason,  it showed up in blue instead of green. I don't   know why. That's a board doc uh glitch that  I'll I'll throw on them. Um but that's that's   really all it is. It's the existing policy  and AR put back together um with additions   from Miss Carter as far as what the district's  doing to satisfy the requirements. And so this   is giving like more of a real time look as to how  the district is meeting all of these

206requirements   like I I actually I really appreciate like this  spring summer this is happening and so this feels   like there's a timeline being met here. Yes. So  in order because of we know their time I talked   about this a little before because we know that  their time frame can shift at the federal and the   state level giving us some room to meet whenever  those requirements are is helpful for us at the   district and then especially at the school level  when they need to roll something out. So the same   way we get mandates down from the state, we  get mandates down from the federal government   and we have to adjust accordingly. So  that at least opens that up for us. And so the thought of taking this out of the AR,  putting it into the policy

207is for ease of reading,   for understanding or I I believe it's also part of  their new kind of requirement. I know Miss Carter   was engaged in conversations with our regional  coordinator and that was I I think the suggestion   was either put it all together or put it all  together and reference that it's all the same,   right? Something along that line. I will  be fair and say she was not clear, okay,   on which one. The original suggestion  was to put everything into the policy,   but then our original had to go to her and  eggs and it still was in the gray area. So,   we're safe if everything is in the policy. I'll  say we hope we're safe. More likely to be safe.   Yes. More likely to be safe. So, we're hoping  based off of the requirements

208that they sent   over that what we have compares to what they're  asking for. But again, every time we're monitored,   you get a new person and one of our complaints  across Delaware County when we all meet together   as federal program coordinators is that we can  go through a monitoring cycle and we all might   have the same thing and they all tell us a very  different answer. So, we want to be hopeful that   this does meet it, but we save our emails of what  they tell us and we use that to help support our   backing. Well, I was going to say I recall  reading a recent email where checking with   someone else confirmed that adding to the AR  and the policy together was okay. Like I mean,   I know you had that conversation with her. So in 

209saving the emails, yes, we have that at least from   them. That that is the I guess current requirement  or preference. I save on the storm. Okay. Well,   I I certainly I think we are a rather be safe than  sorry type of district. So I think that makes good   sense. Um and I look forward to changing it at  the next monitoring event. Um but uh but I I mean   unless there's a specific feedback from the board,  I think it makes sense to to uh send this one to a   first reading. We'll clean it up stylistically  and have it ready for the next meeting. Thank you. Um okay, so I think the last one  here is for um not necessarily consideration   for adoption, just for um an understanding um  and discussion. Okay. Go ahead. Uh Dr. Hayes,  

210do you want to introduce that one? Sure. So,  um attached, sorry, I'm just navigating between   um attached for board member reference is  PSBA template 239. So, PSBA template 239 is   uh guiding framework essentially for uh foreign  exchange students. Um so the purpose for   discussing this PSP framework is to cons to really  consider the appropriateness of um a essentially a   239 policy. We do not have a 239 policy currently.  Uh we do not have a foreign exchange program,   international exchange program, what you want  to call it. Um however you want to call it,   sorry. The uh templates suggested language. Other  districts uh surrounding us do have um the 239.   However, our current policy of 202 um has I  believe it's number seven or eight uh qualifies   a non-resident student or qualifies a foreign  exchange student as

211a non-resident student. So,   the absence of 239 does not prevent us  from having a foreign exchange student   because the board at some point had made a  decision to include that in 202. So, we still   allow for foreign exchange students within our  non-resident policy. that policy is uh 202 is now   uh is then guided by the AR 202.1 um bringing  uh discussing uh 239 template from PSBA um does   not necessarily adjust 202.1 but it does bring up  the discussion or the consideration of um having   a specific policy related to foreign exchange or  international exchange students. Yeah, if I could   add um you know, looking at other districts.  So, in the 15 districts in Delaware County,   11 use this framework. And the one thing I like  about it is it defines a clear accountability and   authority of

212the board. Uh you know, to regulate  the the foreign exchange, the experience that may   be gained through a foreign exchange perspective.  So I I I I like this policy uh because it it does   provide us a way and a mechanism in the future to  consider what what is the best um value of of an   exchange program or we don't have a program but  the value to the community value to the district   um it could be provided it provides a  mechanism for the board to consider that. Yeah, I I agree that this makes sense. And I  think that the reasoning for putting the foreign   exchange students under the the non-resident  student policy was was a similar one, which   was we wanted something um to uh to to allow  foreign exchange students um to come to the  

213district. But it certainly makes sense to have its  own section. Um to Dr. King's earlier point, very   easy to find an understanding. You know, if I have  a question about foreign states, you you know,   there's a policy on that. Um, and uh, I think  if we if if the board wanted to explore this,   we could look at this in conjunction with our  202 either 0.2 maybe. I think it's 0.2. Um,   and policy 20 policy is two. The current policy  that allows that is 202. Okay. Yeah, the policy is   definitely 2 over2. I wasn't the AR is like a good  number. There's an AR 202.1. um and and looking   at those together. Um I think to this is a PSBA  model, so I think we might want to revise some   of the language to be consist

214to be consistent  with our other policies just like the um the use   of the over excessive I think use of board where  really the district is acting that type of thing.   Um and so I think you know Justin if you were  to review this just to review it with the other   changes that we usually make um in our policies  but um I think it makes sense to explore having   having this specific policy um and folding our  current AR into that um and seeing how it fits.   and and Justin can speak to this more, but from my  understanding um to 239 does uh does not limit us   to just having an international exchange program,  right? Like just for clarity, we do not have a   program. We do allow families to host should they  meet the conditions

215of of uh the uh the policy in   the AR. Um we don't have an intention to have an  actual program in the building. There's a number   of reasons for that um from an administrative  standpoint, but we do allow that. Um so it would   still allow for our current practice while not  necessarily requiring a program formally. That's   and that was that would be the one question. Um,  as far as trying to craft this, um, do you want to   see the existing AR 202.1 to move over and live  with 239 as it as an AR or do you want to move   that regulatory language into 239? My impression  is that this would be the policy because like um,   we were saying like this provides the authority.  it gives, you know, it shows like what the board   has

216the authority to do. Um, but that the AR that  we have in place would then become an AR of this   policy. That's how I was thinking about it, but  I don't know if others had a different Yeah,   that that appears to be the practice of our peer  districts is to adopt this policy and then have a   separate AR because the function of that AR is  really more district based, right? And it has   Yeah. Well, and then so that would that would  kind of lead to my second question because for   example like right now one I think one of the  major distinctions would be um I think it as as   the AR is written right now I think we only accept  J1s um but but this does reference as Dr. H said   an F1 situation. So

217where when it when there is  a distinction how would you like me to be based   on current practice? Okay. Right. If there's a  distinction, we I I don't at this point I think   we would want to see it laid out with current  practice. If there is a desire to go away from   current practice, we can have that discussion,  but I don't think that adopting this policy is a   a signal to go away from current practice. It's  to solidify it. Mr. Barbetta, that some of our   peer districts accepts they have they changed the  language to accept different visa. Sure. No. Oh,   and that and that's your discretion, but but for  the sake of combining the documents, um just as as   Miss Weedman made the point earlier, I mean, if I  do it this way, then there

218is going to, you know,   one thing the policy will say one thing and the AR  will contradict it. So, in certain ways, so do do   we want to try to reconcile that I guess is on the  visa aspect just between the we want the policy   and the AR to coincide together, right? Um and  reference each other. And in terms of the visa,   there are, as Dr. Shelton mentioned, there's  neighboring districts that have the policy and   no associated R. There's pol, there's districts  that have the policy and ARs that allow F1s.   There's also districts that have the policy and  don't allow F1. So, to your point, we can have   that discretion to determine what that looks like.  Okay. It's our policy, right? Like there's not a   law requiring us to do this. No. So I think

219that  we I if there's if there's a discrepancy between   this policy and our current practice, our current  practice should be then okay it should overwrite   the the policy. Okay, understood. Does PSBA  um this is a newbie question. Does PSBA offer   um AR templates for us to consider? So sometimes.  Okay, they do sometimes. Um, more recently,   I feel like there's been a push by PSBA to  um put more of the the day-to-day into ARS,   and we've modeled our um policy book  around that as as it's come up. But yeah,   PSBA kind of picks and chooses when they decide to  give us models of those. And and I'll be honest,   I mean, I think every single there it's a great  place to start um with your regulatory language,   but um I think I made the comment a

220couple months  ago. Um you know, generally speaking, PSBA serves   almost, you know, all all 500 plus districts in  the Commonwealth. And so it's really some things   can be a one-sizefits-all. Title one requirements  and the standards you have to satisfy is a good   example of that. But um you know on the day-to-day  and and what individual districts do procedurally   there's a lot of distinction and variation um  within the you know the the standards that you   may have to satisfy. So a lot of districts like  to start with PSBA and then kind of branch off   and customize um to what exactly the their their  own practices are. That's helpful to know. Thank   you. So I think again that we should bring this  back to a committee review since it's going to be   massaged differently. Well, and we

221would bring it  back with essentially a an initial whole new draft   policy. Correct. When we do bring it back, can we  also just says I'm looking at this the delegation   of responsibility section. Um I just want to make  sure within the template of the current policy.   Sorry. Within the I'm looking at the 239 the  template the template. Um and as we're thinking   about like what what is our current practice, what  is feasible and realistic for the administration   to manage. um looking at the delegation of  responsibility for determining the visa status and   the eligibility for our exchange students. I just  want to be clear that if this is something we're   considering that delegation of responsibility  that's going to fall on the administration are   we looking to potential outside source and  realistically what would our administration   be

222able to manage? That's really what I want to  get to. Yeah, we can have those discussions um   with Dr. Parker who oversees that process. Um and  also look and reference uh how other neighboring   districts might handle that um and have that  considered when we've drafted. And just to add   to that um specifically as it relates to the  liability, right? Right. That is my concern. That ends the policy discussion. Thank you.  Back to you, Dr. King. Thank you. All right.   That takes us to section five. For other  items, we have our 2026 27 meeting schedule. Um, it is our meeting schedule for for the 2627  school year with the dates reflected correctly.   if I pull it up. Um I do not believe obviously  individual people's schedules changed but um in   checking with board members uh just

223initially  there were no outstanding or prior known   significant conflicts. Um still keeping with  uh the work session action meeting process,   still keeping uh with what is uh typically  essentially the first and third Thursday of   each month. um and still keeping um with  our regular reorg meeting uh occurring um   essentially midway through the first Monday  of December and our times of seven and 7:30. Any questions there? And that  would move forward for next week   uh not not next week, next uh meeting. All right. Um, section six, we did not meet for  information or executive session this evening. So,   we're going to continue on to section seven  for public comment. Um, I have one person that   signed up for public comment evening. Just a few  reminders. Um, there will be a timer that is set.   There's three

224minutes allotted for this for this  time. Um, please state your first and last name,   confirm your residency, and Hford Township. if  there are any materials that you would like to   um distribute to the board, please leave  with Mr. Ta um at the end of the table and   if need be a member of the administration will  follow up. So we have one person at Colin Glenn and Dr. King if I may. Um just before we begin,  we want to remind everyone in attendance that   this meeting is being recorded and will be  accessible to the public. And while the board   encourages members of the public to speak during  public comment and raise any concerns that they   may have related to the district, uh we also  want to remind you that due to student privacy   and confidentiality considerations,

225any speaker  who references information that would identify   another student will be instructed to redirect  their comments. And in addition, parents and   guardians are urged to use care if they elect to  speak about their own students personal situation   because as I stated, that information will now  be part of a permanent schoolboard recording. Um, my name is Colin Quinn. I am a resident  of Howardford Township. Uh, my husband Andrew   and I are eager to host an international  exchange student and have been preparing   for this experience since Thanksgiving. Uh we  prepared our home, complete background checks,   attended trainings, taken every step required to  welcome uh an exchange student into our family and   community. Uh when we first learned that Hford  School District's AR 202.1 prohibits us from   hosting an exchange student because we do not  have a pure

226age student in the home, we wanted   to understand why. Uh, and on February 2nd, we  emailed you uh seeking the rationale behind the   rule and asking the district to consider changing  the language or creating an exemption. Um, so we   appreciate that uh you're now starting to discuss  what that might look like. Um, it's been three   months since that initial outreach. Uh, and over  that time, we've spoken at four board meetings,   met with Dr. Hayes on multiple occasions, uh,  gathered information from local, regional,   and state sources. and everything we have found  supports allowing qualified families like ours to   host international exchange students. We've also  seen meaningful support from the broader community   for changing this rule. Um it's been great to  meet community members uh and rally around the   common purpose. Um, as we, you know, might

227not be  aware, the PSBA doesn't recommend this requirement   that we have, uh, neighboring districts, right?  They don't restrict exchange student enrollment   based on whether there's another high school  age student in the home. Uh, it's not standard   practice nor align with research and guidance we  reviewed. uh in last board meeting when I walked   out um to the parking lot, a Harvard High School  student approached me uh and shared they had a   wonderful experience as an exchange student in  France despite there being no other children in   the home. Uh that conversation just reinforced  uh for us how meaningful this experience can be   uh and how little this particular requirement  appears to have to do with student success. Um,   I'm here tonight to ask the board to clearly state  whether you you support this requirement. Uh,   and if

228not to publicly encourage the immediate  revision of AR 202.1. Uh, your discussion and   event ultimately Dr. Hayes's decision um will  determine whether or not we're able to host   uh a student for the upcoming year or future  years. Right. And um it's a deeply personal   thing that we've been here, right? And I think  uh we appreciate your consideration, your time.   I wouldn't stay till 10:00 if I wasn't passionate  about it and I appreciate you staying as well. Um   so at this point the issue is more it's about  more than one placement, right? It's about   whether qualified families of all backgrounds  and family structures are truly welcome to   participate in opportunities that enrich both  students and the broader Hford community. Um,   we ask that you recommend changing AR2 2.1 so  families are not excluded from participating in  

229this experience solely because they do not have  a high school age child in the home. Thank you   for your time and consideration over these past  three months. We look forward to working together. All right. Um, the next regular  meeting of the board is an action   meeting scheduled for May 21st, 2026 at  7:30 p.m. in the boardroom of the Oakmont   Administration building. I have a motion  to adjourn the meeting. Moved. Second.